Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Now revelation chapter one, verse number one, the Bible reads "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass, and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John". So right there in verse number one we get the purpose of the book, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. So who is this book being primarily written to? The saved or the unsaved? The saved, God's people. His servants. To show THEM the things which must shortly come to pass. And let's not forget, the book is called "the revelation" of Jesus Christ. It is there to reveal things unto his servants. Not to obscure things, not to be difficult to understand. But to make things easy to understand, and to reveal them openly. Go to the last verse of chapter number 1. The Bible reads in verse 20 "the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks". Now many people will look at the book of revelation and think that it is a very mysterious book, and alot of Christians will even shy away from studying the book of revelation, many preachers don't want to preach on the book of revelation, because they say "oh, wow, it's so hard to understand. It's so complicated, it's so mysterious, it's so difficult". But really if you finish verse number 20, you will see the greatness of the book of Revelation because it says yes, "the mystery of the seven stars", but look at the last part there. "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches". Is it a mystery anymore? No, because he just told us what it was. "And the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches". So the book of revelation does not have to be a mystery, it doesn't have to be a difficult book. Sure there are some things in there that are a little bit tough to understand. But, you know most of the book of Revelation is pretty easy to understand, as long as you are saved. Alot of people just can't understand Revelation because they're not saved. And the Bible says "The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned". But if you are saved, if you are a born again child of God, you should have no trouble understanding the basics of the book of Revelation. And I hope you will stay with the whole series, because we are going to go through this whole book verse by verse, we are going to leave no stone unturned. And I think you will realise that alot of the reason why people are misunderstanding things in the book of Revelation, is just because they have a preconceived idea that they are having trouble letting go of. But if you will put away preconceived ideas and just let the Bible speak to you, let THIS BOOK reveal unto us the things which must shortly come to pass, I don't think you will have any trouble understanding it. So he says in verse 1 "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto His servants the things which must shortly come to pass. And he sent and signified it by His angel, unto His servant John, who bare record of the Word of God". So this book is the Word of God. "And of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand". So right there in verse three, we see that if you're not reading this book, you're missing out on a blessing. You are lacking information that you may even need in a short time because it is very possible that the events of the book of revelation could take place in our lifetime. And you would much rather know these things, blessed is the one who does know these things going into the period of the endtimes, as opposed to the one who doesn't know anything about it, because they have not read the book of revelation on their own, and they have not gone to a church that would preach unto them the book of Revelation that they might hear these things preached from the pulpit. Look at verse 4 "John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace be unto you and peace, from Him which is and which was and which is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before His throne". So right here we see that the book is being addressed by John unto seven churches which fits in perfectly with the fact that the book of revelation is written unto God's people, unto His servants, unto the churches. See alot of people look at revelation as being a warning to the unsaved. And most people's belief is that we will not be here for most of the events in revelation. I mean, you know "90 per cent of the book of Revelation, we are not even going to be here". Well then why would He write the whole book to show unto us the things which must shortly come to pass. Now, true, there are parts of the book of revelation where God is pouring out His wrath while we are already gone. But very much of the book of revelation involves periods of time where we are on this earth, and we WILL face the things that are mentioned. And so the book is being written unto 7 churches which are in Asia. Now these 7 churches which are in Asia are listed a little bit further down in the passage in verse 11, where He talks about Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. Let me emphasis to you that these were real, literal churches that existed at the time the book was written. Now, these churches no longer exist today. But at the time, these were Bible believing churches that were located in Asia, and when the Bible says Asia there, it is referring to what we call today "Asia minor", which is the modern day country of Turkey. And when you look at the epistle written unto the Thessalonians for example, Paul commands that the Epistle unto the Thessalonians would be read unto the church at Laodicea, and that the epistle that is written unto Laodicea, would be read unto the church at Thessalonica. And of course, we know that the church at Ephesus is a literal church because we have the whole book of Ephesians written unto the church of Ephesus. And so these are literal congregations of believers, and John is sending out the book of Revelation, the whole book, he is sending to each of these seven churches. You say "why would he send out the book to 7 different churches? Why write the book seven times, why not just write it out once and send it out?" Well go to the very end of Revelation, to chapter 22 and I will show you why I believe it was sent unto 7 churches. One of the reasons that is. Part of the reason is that in chapters 2 and 3, he has a personalised message for each of the 7 churches. But also if you look at chapter 22 verse 18, the Bible says "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add unto these things, God shall unto him the plagues that are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and of the Holy city, and from the things which are written in this book". So we have a very serious curse put on anyone who would tamper with the contents of the book of revelation. Anyone that would add to the words, or take away from the words, is doomed and damned and cursed, in the last chapter. You see it was very important to God, and very important to the apostle John that this book arrived at the destination unaltered and intact. Now, one of the ways that God could assure that the book would not be tampered with was by making seven copies. Because if you send out seven copies to seven different churches, let's say one of them gets intercepted and tampered with, or someone changes something, or adds something, or takes away something. Well, you have still got six other copies and when we see six copies that match up, and then one copy that is different, we will be able to tell right away which one is the fraud, right? And so that's how we know by the way that the Bible that we have today in 2013 is the same as it was when it was originally written. Because believe me, there have been alot of people out there who have attempted to corrupt the Word of God and to change the Word of God. And there are people out there today who will say "well, what you have today with the Bible is nothing like what they had back then, because it has been copied so many times, and it has been translated, and... it's not anything like the originals". That's what they will say. But here is the great thing about the Bible. When the Bible was originally written, it was always copied into many copies right away. And it was always translated immediately into many different languages. And so to say that all of those copies have been changed would be ridiculous, okay? Like for example, let's say the newspaper came out today. You know, how many copies of the "Arizona Republic" were printed today? I don't know, but I'm sure it was many thousands of copies of that newspaper, right? Well, what if I had a copy of that newspaper and ten years from now, because maybe something really big happened today, and so I kept that newspaper. You know, sometimes people keep a newspaper that says "Hitler invades Poland", and they will keep that of a memorial of a major event in human history, or maybe the newspaper of the moon landing, or the newspaper of John F Kennedy being assassinated. People will save those newspapers. What if somebody saved that newspaper, and many many years later, somebody said "hey that newspaper has been changed. That newspaper is a fraud. That newspaper is nothing like the original newspaper". It would be very easy to tell whether it was a fraud or not, because there are so many copies of that newspaper that were made, and there were probably lots of people that saved that newspaper because it was such a big monumental event. And what we would do is we would go and we would look at other people's copies wouldn't we? I mean isn't this just the logical thing you would do? You would go and check other people's copies, and make sure that they said the same thing as that copy, and you would say "there is no way that all of these have been changed! They are held by different people in different parts of the city that had no connection with each other, and they are all saying the same thing, therefore it's accurate". Now if we found ONE that said something different, then all the other copies of that newspaper that had been saved, we wouldn't assume that the majority was the fraud, we would assume that that one had been altered. Well it is the same thing with the Bible. Although there have been people throughout history that have put out corrupted Biblical text, corrupted manuscripts, altered and changed things as God warned that people would do... We still can look at the Majority Text. We can still look at the vast majority of evidence, what is known as the "Textus Receptus" or the "Received Text" of the original Greek and Hebrew. No we don't have the exact original manuscripts, but we have copies of copies of copies in all different parts of the world, in all different languages dating back thousands of years, or many hundreds of years, and we can compare them. And when we see that they are all saying the same thing, we are going to go with that majority received text, not with the outlier. Okay? And that is why we know that the Bible that we have today is the same as when it was originally written. And of course we know and believe that Bible is the Word of God, and that every word of God IS pure today, just as it was when it was written down. So that's one of the reasons why it was sent out to the seven churches. To assure us today, that what we are reading in the book of revelation is accurate today. Because it was right away copied into 7 copies, and I guarantee you that it was immediately copied into many other copies and many other languages right away. And that's what we see in verse 4, he is writing to the seven churches which are in Asia, "grace be unto you and peace, from Him which is and which was, and which is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before His throne. And from Jesus Christ". Now, what is this about the 7 spirits which are before His throne. Well look if you would at revelation 3:1, this is Jesus Christ speaking. Unto the Angel of the church in Sardis, write, these things saith He that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars". So the Bible has Jesus there saying that He has the 7 spirits of God. Go back to Isaiah 11, and we will see the 7 spirits of God, in Isaiah chapter 11 in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ having those 7 spirits. And the 7 spirits of God are something that is mentioned throughout the book of Revelation. But look if you would at Isaiah chapter 11 verse 1 "and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord. And I don't know if you were counting there, but we have basically 7 spirits listed. Let's count them right now, in verse 2. The spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of might, the spirit of knowledge, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord. So there we go, the 7 spirits of God there listed in Isaiah chapter 11. About whom? In verse 1 it said there would come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots and of course the branch is something that Jesus Christ is called. We know Jesus Christ came from the seed of David, David is the son of Jesse, that's what that is referring to. So back to revelation chapter 1. The Bible says "And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father, to him be glory and dominion fro ever and ever, amen". How is anyone worthy to be saved? How is anyone worthy to inherit eternal life and to go to heaven? Many people will teach that it is by being a good person and by living a good life. The Bible says "as it is written, there is none righteous, no not one". Jesus said "there is none that doeth good but one, and that is God". "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" the Bible says. But, the reason that we are able to be accepted in the beloved, the reason that we are able to be joint heirs with Jesus Christ, the reason that we are able to inherit eternal life and be saved from all of the horrible plagues that are in the book of Revelation is that we have been washed from our sins in His own blood. It's the blood of Jesus Christ His son that cleanses us from all sin. And the Bible says that not only has he washed us from our sins in his own blood. But verse 6 says "he hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father, to Him be glory and dominion fro ever and ever, amen". So we are kings and priests, if we are washed in the blood, the Bible teaches, we are a chosen generation, we are a royal priesthood, and I will get to that a little later on in the book of Revelation in much more detail. But he says there that we're kings and priests unto God and His Father. Now let me ask you something. Are God and Jesus' Father two different people? It's the same person, right? You have got to be careful when you study the Bible. Alot of times the word "and" is referring to two different things is, and alot of times the word "and" is referring to the same thing restated in a different way. And so when it says God "and" the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for example elsewhere in the NT, we are talking about the same person. Now at the end of verse 6, there is an amen. An amen is a word that is used in closing in the Bible. That's why alot of times when we pray we close out our prayer by saying Amen. Well out of the 27 books of the NT- I don't have it in my notes- but I believe that 24 of the 27 book end with the word Amen. So when we see the word Amen in verse 6, basically we have come to the end of the introduction of Revelation. Verses 1 through 6 are introductory, then he says Amen. Then in verse 7 we get into the key verse of Revelation. This is the quintessential verse that basically tells us what the whole books focus is. What is the book of Revelation about. And notice, there is an "amen" before verse 7, and an "amen" after verse 7. I mean that one statement just stands alone between amens as the key verse of Revelation. MEMORISE this verse, this is the key verse. "Behold he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him, even so, amen". So the Key themes of the book of Revelation are all contained in that verse. First of all, the second coming of Jesus Christ is the major theme of the Book of Revelation. And also God's judgement upon the wicked is a major theme of the book of Revelation is it not? I mean those are the two most important themes of the book of Revelation. The second coming of Jesus Christ, and God's judgement upon the wicked. That's why it says all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Wailing is basically like, crying out in sorrow and pain and anguish. Like, for example, when the Bible talks about hell. It says there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. You know, you can just hear, basically, the screams and the yelling of the damned when you hear the term "wailing". Now, let's look at Acts chapter 1. I am going to spend a little time on verse 7 here, because it is the key verse of the book of Revelation. Let me say this. Understand Revelation 1:7, and you will understand the book of Revelation. FAIL to understand Revelation; you will fail to understand the book of Revelation. You might as well just quit now. If you can't get this verse right, you are going to go into the book of Revelation with the completely wrong view. So that's why we need to take some time and establish this. What does verse 7 teach? it says that Jesus Christ is coming with clouds. And that "every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindred of the earth shall wail because of him, even so amen". Now in Acts chapter one, we're going to see part of why this is important. This is the ascension of Jesus Christ. Now, what we call the first coming of Jesus Christ, or the first advent of Jesus Christ, is of course when he was born in Bethlehem's manger, approximately 2000 years ago. That was when Jesus Christ came unto this earth. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. Even to them that believe on his name. And when Jesus came to this earth 2000 years ago, he died on the cross, he was buried, and 3 days later, he rose again from the dead, having conquered death and hell, and Jesus Christ is assembled together with his apostles in Acts chapter one. And he is about to ascend up to heaven where he is going to be seated at the right hand of the Father. And look what the Bible says in verse 9. "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld"- what does "beheld" mean? While they watched, while they looked on. It says "while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their"- what? "Sight". So do you notice how God is emphasising the fact that they were watching him, and seeing him as he went up in a what? A cloud. So when he ascended up from this earth, he went up in a cloud, they beheld, he is in their sight, and then it says in verse 10 "while they looked steadfastly toward heaven", making it very clear that they are very steadfastly watching him go up into the cloud. "While they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel"- white clothing- "which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven". There you go. There's the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. "He will come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven". Again, emphasising that they have seen him go. So, what is the like manner? People are watching, people see him, and he goes up in a cloud, he is coming back in a cloud. They watched him go up, and every eye shall see him, when he comes again, when he returns again. Now, go to Mathew chapter 24. Mathew chapter 24 because I want to show you other scriptures in the NT, that deal with Jesus Christ coming in the clouds, coming with clouds as it said in Revelation 1:7. And again, very important that you understand this, because the vast majority of Christians today have verse 7 wrong, that's why they have most of the book of Revelation wrong. But look if you would at Mathew 24. Let me show you verse 21 first of all. The Bible says in verse 21 "for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be". So in verse 21, Jesus Christ makes reference to the great tribulation which is something that is going to be covered in the book of Revelation. It is something that we have probably all heard of. But look at verse 29. The Bible reads in verse 1, "Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken". Now right there in verse 29, the Bible tells us of events that will take place AFTER the great tribulation. And these are very major events, wouldn't you say? The sun being darkened, the moon not giving her light, and the stars falling from heaven? Not only are these major cataclysmic events, but they are events that show up in OT scripture over and over again. Book of Isaiah, book of Joel, over and over again you will see reference made to the sun and moon being darkened, and it is always associated with the day of the Lord, the Bible talks about the day of the Lord, being a time when the sun and moon are darkened. And it also mentions the stars falling here in verse 29, look at verse 30. "And THEN shall appear the sign of the son of man in Heaven". So we see a chronology of events here. First is the great tribulation. Immediately after the tribulation, the sun and moon and stars are darkened, and THEN we see after that- notice the words "and then" in verse 30... We see the son of man appearing in heaven. Okay, now who is the son of man? Well 89 times in the NT, Jesus Christ called himself the son of man. And so the Bible says basically that Jesus will come in heaven. It says "then shall the sign of the son of man in heaven..." "And then shall all the tribes of the earth MOURN". Now does that remind you of the wailing? Wailing and mourning are synonymous. "Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory". Now doesn't this match up exactly with Revelation 1:7? They're going to see the son of man coming in the clouds, it's in the clouds, they are going to see him, they are going to be wailing, they are going to be mourning. I mean it's identical. And it says "and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other". Now, who are the elect? Well if you study the NT, just look up every time the word "elect" is used, and over and over again the word elect always is referring to those that are saved. Every time. I mean the Bible says in Romans 8, in the famous passage, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. If God be for us, who can be against us?” Look, if you are justified, if you are SAVED, you are the elect. He says "there is neither Jew nor gentile, there is neither bond nor free". He says "put on therefore, as the elect of God... bowels and mercies" and so forth. So over and over again, you look up the word "elect", and it is very clearly always referring to the saved, whether they be Jew of gentile, whether they be bond or free. Some will try to say "the elect is referring to the nation of Israel". You know, the entire NT is filled with references to the elect. Just look them up. They're all referring to the saved. Not the nation of Israel. They are always referring to believers. So he says here, that Jesus Christ, after the tribulation, and after the sun and moon are darkened there, is going to come in the clouds, a trumpet is going to sound, and he is going to gather up the saved, okay? Have you got that? Go to Mark 13. Mark chapter 13. And in Mark chapter 13 we find a parallel passage that teaches the same thing as Mathew 24. Look at verse 24 of Mark 13. It says "but in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken, and THEN shall they see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect, or the saved, as we saw, from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth, to the uttermost part of heaven. Now learn a parable of the fig tree"... And on and on, he talks about the fig tree. Go to Luke 21. Luke 21 is another parallel passage with these 2. Luke chapter number 21. Now I don't think that there is any disagreement amongst anyone that is looking at this, that Mark 13, Mathew 24 and Revelation 1:7 are all talking about the same event, right? Because we have got Jesus coming in the clouds. We have got the people weeping and wailing because of him, the tribes of the earth that is. Look at Luke 21. The Bible says in verse 25, "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars", sound familiar? "And upon the earth, distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring." Let me ask you this, is distress, and in verse 26 "men's hearts failing them for fear", in line with the wailing and the mourning that we saw in the other passages? Absolutely. "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth. For the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” So they're not afraid of what has already happened. They are afraid of what is ABOUT to happen. And it says "and THEN", verse 27, "shall they see the son of man coming in the cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh". So notice, in Mathew 24, and Mark 13, he said the elect are gathered from one end of heaven to the other. From the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. Here, instead of saying the elect are gathered, he says "YOUR redemption draweth nigh, YOU lift up your heads, for YOUR redemption draweth nigh". So the elect being gathered IS our redemption. Is that not what the Bible says? Our redemption is equivalent to the elect being gathered, okay? Everybody got that? Now if you would, flip over to 1st Thessalonians chapter 4. Again, no question in people's minds that Mathew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 are all referring to the same quintessential event as Revelation 1:7, which is the second coming of Jesus Christ. But here's where false doctrine comes in. There are those out there that believe in what's called a "pre-tribulational" rapture. They believe that the rapture takes place before the tribulation. And when I say rapture, "rapture" is not a word that is used in the Bible, but it is a biblical concept. When people say "the rapture", what they are referring to, is when we are caught up together to be with Christ in the clouds. When we are gathered together to be with Jesus Christ in the clouds, that is known as the rapture. Because the rapture means "the catching away" or "the catching up", that is where that term comes from. And so I am going to use the term "rapture", even though it is not a term that the Bible specifically uses, just to make myself understood, so that people will know what I am talking about. Okay, so let's look at the Bible's terminology for this event. 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 is the key rapture passage. And no-one will disagree that 1st Thessalonians 4 is dealing with the rapture. Here is where the disagreement comes in. The people who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture will try to separate THIS coming in the clouds, from the coming in the clouds that we saw in Revelation 1:7, Mathew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. And they will try to say "well this is a different event, that happens before the tribulation, don't confuse it". And here is what they will say. "This is not the second coming of Christ". I mean those who believe in a pre-trib rapture will point at 1st Thessalonians 4, and say "this is not the second coming of Christ", they will say "the pre-tribulation rapture and the second coming of Christ are two different things". They will say Mathew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Revelation 1:7, Acts 1... Yes, those are all talking about the second coming of Christ!". But they say "1st Thessalonians 4 is a separate event, it's a pre-tribulation rapture". Let's read it, and I will let you be the judge for yourselves. If this passage is teaching a separate event, that takes place before the tribulation. Read the Bible for yourself. Verse 13. "But I would not have you to be ignorant brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord"... oh, oh, what was that? "We which are alive and remain unto" what? "The coming of the Lord.” Let me just back up and read that again. "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the COMING OF THE LORD.” Now is it just me, or is this event that we are reading about in 1st Thessalonians 4 called "the coming of the Lord"? Is there any question about that? Okay. But yet people will insist on saying, "this is not the second coming". And these theologians and these scholars will tell you, "we must differentiate between the rapture in 1st Thessalonians 4, and the second coming of Christ.” But wait a minute, what is this called? "The coming", right? So if it's not the second coming, tell me which coming is it? Is it the first coming? Are they saying that Jesus Christ never came the first time? Well that's blasphemy. Because the Bible says that anybody who does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is a deceiver and an antichrist. So look, don't tell me Jesus did not come the first time. Yes he did come the first time. That makes this the second coming of Jesus Christ. Well, I mean, unless you want to say it's the third coming. But that's not what their saying. They just don't want to count this. Their just like "let's just forget about that whole "coming" thing. This is a pre-trib rapture, because we said so". But it says right there, it's the coming of the Lord. So either this is "Coming 1.5", or this is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, because it says this is the coming of our Lord". Let's keep reading. It says "we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord". And look, don't let... I'm not going to let anybody wiggle out of this one. (Impersonates false teachers) "Welllll......” NO! Is it the second coming or not!? And you say "what does it matter? You are just playing word games". This is not a game. Do I look like I am playing a game right now? This is the second coming of Jesus Christ, and it is very important that we establish that when the Bible talks about Jesus Christ coming again, that is what it is talking about. And don't try to wiggle out of it. "Wellll, that's not what we meant". I know what you meant. You meant that this is not counting as the coming of Christ, but I am going to go with what the Bible says. So he says here, that "we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep", meaning we're not going to come before them which are asleep. So let me ask you this, is the rapture going to take place before the dead in Christ rise? No. That's why he says "for the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. THEN we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with him in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words". Now why does he say to comfort one another with these words? The comfort is that you are going to see your loved ones again. Because earlier in the passage he said in verse 13, "I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as them which have no hope". The purpose of him writing this, is that people had lost loved ones, and they're sorrowful... of course everyone that loses a loved one is sorrowful. But he is giving them hope saying, "you don't have to mourn like those who have no hope, because we know that if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so those which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him". He is saying "you are going to be reunited with your loved one once again, wherefore comfort one another with these words". What is the comfort? Being reunited. That's why this is a great passage at funerals, where we can comfort one another with these words. And I have seen it often used at funerals. So what do we see in this passage? Do we see Christ coming in the clouds? Well we know he is coming, because he used the phrase "the coming of the Lord" in verse 15. It says in verse 17 "then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up"- and remember the term "caught up" is where the word rapture comes from- "caught up together with them in the clouds". So do we have Christ coming? Yes. Do we have the clouds? Yes. Do we have the trumpet? Did we have a trumpet in Mathew 24? Yes. Same thing. Okay, so here is my question. What is different about this event? Let me ask you this. I just read for you 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18. Did it mention anything about this being before the tribulation? Did it mention anything about the timing of this event? No, it mentioned nothing. Now look at chapter 5 verse 1. "But of the times and the seasons brethren, you have no need that I write unto you"- yeah, I noticed, because he didn't give us the timing, in chapter 4. He said "Of the times and the seasons brethren, you have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night". So why does he not have to tell us the timing of the rapture in verse 4? Because we already know that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. So why does knowing that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night... Why does that make us not have to know the timing of the rapture? Because here is the thing. The timing of the day of the Lord is the same as the timing of the rapture, obviously. Because, that's the only way this makes sense, to say "well you don't need me to tell you about the timing of these events, because we already know that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night, because we already know basically, the timing of the day of the Lord, that means we already know the timing of the rapture, because the timing of the rapture, and the timing of the day of the Lord, are the same timing. They both come as a thief in the night. And then it says "when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape". So when we look at this passage, what do we see? We basically see the same exact elements that we saw in all the other passages about the other passages about the second coming of Christ. We saw that basically Jesus coming in the clouds, a trumpet sounding, we saw the gathering of the elect, or us being caught up together with him in the air, and then the only thing that you might look at this and say well, "the one thing that is missing is the sun and moon being darkened". Yeah, but he says in chapter 5, verse 2, "the day of the Lord", in reference to what he just talked about in 1st Thessalonians 4. He says "you already know the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night". Okay. What is the day of the Lord always characterised by, every time that it is mentioned? Sun and moon being darkened. So there is your sun and moon being darkened in this passage. See how this passage matches exactly? Have we seen anything yet that says it is before the tribulation? No. And you say "okay, where is the weeping and wailing? Where is the mourning?". Okay, "for when they shall say peace and safety, then"-What? "Sudden destruction cometh upon them. As travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape". There you go. And then it says this. (Sarcastically) "But ye brethren, don't worry, because you're going to be gone looooooong before this happens, you are going to be gone waaaaaaaaaaay before in the pre-trib rapture". Is that what it says in verse 4? No. It says "but ye brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake YOU as a thief". Now does that say that that day is not going to overtake you at all? (Sarcastically->) "You are not even going to be there. This day isn't even going to happen to you". No. He says "you are not in darkness that the day should overtake you as a THIEF". The day will overtake you, but not as a thief. Why not? Because it says, we are all the children of the light, and the children of the day. "We are not of the night nor of darkness", verse 6 "therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober". He is saying wake up, be alert, be watching, and if you're watching, this day will not overtake you as a thief. It will not take you unawares. It will not take you by surprise. Will you be there? Yes. You will be there, but it will not surprise you. Because when you see these things begin to come to pass, he said then look up, lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh, you will see this coming. Now flip back quickly to Mathew 24. And we will move on to something else. But before we do, let me just, while you are turning to Mathew 24, 2nd Thessalonians 2:1 says "Now we beseech you brethren, by the COMING of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him", so again in 2nd Thessalonians in 2:1", the coming of Jesus Christ is associated with our gathering together unto him. You say "well Pastor Anderson, it said the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, AND our gathering together unto him, that's two different things". Oh, sort of like "God and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, right? Two different people right? Didn't we cover that earlier in the sermon. And sort of like "looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our saviour Jesus Christ". Two different things, or two of the same. Very easy to tell. But in Mathew 24, right after the subject of after the tribulation Christ coming in the clouds, the trumpet sounding, the elect being gathered, he gives the parable of the fig tree. He says "learn the parable of the fig tree", verse 32, "when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things"... See? He is saying when YOU shall see all these things, "know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled". Meaning that when you see them begin to come to pass, that generation that sees the beginning of this, is not going to pass until it's finished. He says "heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father only". Now look, what day... He says "of that day". If I said to you, "that day", wouldn't your next question be "which day?" It has to be something that I talked about previously or it wouldn't make any sense to say "that day". He said "But of THAT day and hour knoweth no man". What day and hour are we talking about? The day that we just talked about when the sun and moon are darkened and Jesus Christ will come in the clouds and gather the elect. Now here is what's funny. People will take the verse "of that day and hour knoweth no man" and say that that means that Jesus can come at any moment. Because "no man knoweth the day or the hour". But then when you take them to Mathew 24:29, where it is happening after the tribulation, they will say "oh that's not about the rapture, because that's after the tribulation, that can't be about the rapture, because we KNOW that the rapture is before the tribulation". Okay, and then you say, "well, how do you know Jesus can come back at any moment?" And they will say "well, because no man knoweth the day or the hour. And you are like "well, where does the Bible say that?". "Oh, right here in Mathew 24:36". "Wait a minute, I thought Mathew 24 is not about the rapture?". "Oh no, verse 26 is about the rapture". "Well what about verse 29?". "Oh that's not about the rapture". I mean, see how the logic falls apart, it makes no sense. Is this passage about the rapture or not? See how you can just find somebody that can pick and choose of the verse, and rip it out of context, and say... and it sounds believable. "HEY! The bible says that no man knoweth the day or the hour of Jesus Christ's coming! It could happen tonight!". "Amen... amen.. amen...". But here he said it's after the tribulation. Now look, doesn't it make sense to say we don't know the day or the hour, but we know it's after the tribulation? I mean look, I know that the rapture or the coming of Christ in the clouds happens after the tribulation, I know that, because that's what the Bible says. But do I know the day or the hour? Could I tell you the date? Could I tell you the year? I mean this could happen a hundred years from now, this could happen five years from now. I have no idea when this could happen. But I do know one thing, it's after the tribulation because that is what Jesus said. Now Go to Revelation 6 quickly and then we will finish up in Revelation chapter 1. And I am spending alot of time on the coming of Christ in the clouds, because, like I said. Revelation 1:7 IS the key verse. And if you are going to be mixed up about the subject matter of Revelation 1:7, you are going to be mixed up for the rest of the book. You are not going to understand the rest of the book. And you know what? That's why so many people don't understand the book of Revelation. Because this pre- trib rapture, this false doctrine has so confused people, that they look at the book of Revelation, they try to make it fit, it doesn't fit. They are trying to jam that square peg into the round hole. They throw up their hands. They say "oh man, that's a complicated book, I can't figure it out". Throw that out and you will be able to understand this book. Look at Revelation 6 where the sun and moon are darkened. And it says in verse 12 "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell on the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind". And, I will go over this in great detail once we get to these chapters, once we get to chapter 6. But let me just point out to you, that this is the sun and moon being darkened, and this is the stars falling in Revelation 6. And this is the only time in the book of Revelation where you will find sun and moon darkened and stars falling. The only time! So obviously this is the event that we read about in Mathew 24. This is the event we read about in Mark 13 of sun, moon and stars being darkened, and stars actually falling, okay? So that shows that with the opening of the sixth seal, that is what the Bible refers to as "after the tribulation". That means that everything before the sixth seal is the tribulation, okay? That means everything that comes after the sun and moon are darkened is not the tribulation. That is God pouring out His wrath. And God pouring out His wrath is very different than the tribulation. The tribulation does not go the entire 7 years of the events that are, the main events of Revelation cover a period of 7 years- often called "Daniel's seventieth week". The tribulation does not cover that whole period. The tribulation only covers a little more than half of that period. Then sun and moon are darkened, Christ comes in the clouds, THEN he pours out His wrath in the remaining period. And you know, you have got to just stay with the series. I am going to prove everything from the book of Revelation beyond a shadow of a doubt. If you stay with this series, there will be no doubt in your mind that this is the way things play out, because the Bible is very clear, we are going to compare scripture with scripture. We are going to leave no stone unturned. And so on and so forth. And you say "oh, Mathew 24 is talking to the Jews". We are going to cover all that. I mean, I am going to put that to bed. And so back to Revelation chapter 1. Let's go to the next verse. After the key verse, verse 7. The Bible reads "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending saith the Lord, which is, and which was and which is to come, the Almighty". Now let me point out, who is it that is saying "I am the Alpha and Omega, I am the beginning and the end, I am the Almighty". Who is talking here? Well jump down if you would to verse number 17, it says "and when I saw Him, I fell at his feet as dead, and he laid his right hand upon me saying unto me, fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, amen, and have the keys of hell and of death". Who is talking there? Is that God the father, of is that the son, God the Son speaking? That's the son. Because, wasn't it the son who "was dead, and is now alive forevermore"? Look, the son died and was buried and rose again. And it is Jesus Christ the son of God who says "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the LORD, which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty". So look, Jesus Christ is being called here, "the Almighty". He is also being called "the first and the last, and the beginning and the ending". The "Alpha and Omega"... Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He is basically saying A to Z. I am the beginning, I am the end. Now look, I have talked to alot of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, when I am out knocking doors, and they don't believe that Jesus Christ is God. They say "well he is the son of God", and they say he is "a God". And go to Isaiah 9:6. In their version, they have a false Bible version called the New World Translation. And in this false corrupted false corrupted Bible version, they have changed the Bible where in John 1:1 it says "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God", and it says "the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth". They changed that to where it says "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was A GOD". Let me tell you something. There is only one God. So this whole thing that saying that Jesus is "A god", is teaching multiple gods, it's a false doctrine. I often take Jehovah’s Witnesses to Isaiah 9:6, because their Bible makes alot of corruptions, but it does not change Isaiah 9:6, I like to take them to Isaiah 9:6 where it says "for unto us a child was born, and unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace". And I show them right there, Jesus Christ is called "the Mighty God". Go back to Revelation 1. And they say "well...", you know they look at it for a minute, and they just don't want to accept the truth. Their heart resists the Holy Ghost speaking through His word. And they say "well... Jesus is the "Mighty God", but he is not the "Almighty God". As if there is a difference. There is only one God, my friend. But they try to make a distinction. But what is Jesus calling himself at the end of Revelation 1:8? "The Almighty". Jesus Christ speaking says that he is the Almighty. It says in verse number 9, "I John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the Isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ". So according to verse 9 there, John is their companion in tribulation. Now, what is tribulation? Isn't tribulation a pretty important word, when we are dealing with end times Bible Prophecy? People talk alot about the tribulation. The great tribulation, we saw it in Mathew 24. And remember the false doctrine that I am dealing with tonight, is the false doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture. And people say "God will not allow His people to go through the tribulation. They will be raptured before the tribulation because God will not allow His wrath to be poured out on His own people", that's what they will say. Is that consistent with what we see in verse 9? The first time tribulation is used in the book of Revelation is to talk about a saved child of God, who is serving God, going through tribulation. Now, flip over quickly to Mathew 13, I am going to show you the first time the word tribulation is ever used in the NT. Mathew chapter 13, this is Jesus Christ speaking. And I often find that if there is a word in the Bible, and you want to know the definition of it, usually if you go to the first time that word is used... God helps to define that word. And so look at the first time the NT uses the word "tribulation". This is the parable of the sower. And the Bible is talking about different people who hear the word of God, it says in verse 20, "But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it. Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth", or endureth "for a while. For when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended". So what is causing tribulation in the life of this particular believer? It's persecution because of the word of God, okay? So look, what about John in Revelation 1:7? He said "I am your companion in tribulation", and then he mentions that he is in the isle of Patmos for what? For the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. He is being punished, by being imprisoned on the isle of Patmos because of serving God, and he is saying "that is my tribulation that I am going through". Look, look up every time that the word tribulation is used in the NT. 90 per cent of the time, it is God's people going through tribulation. Because tribulation is usually referring to persecution or affliction. And most of the time it happens because of the Word. The Bible says "yea, and ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus, SHALL suffer persecution". Let me ask you this, is "tribulation" in Revelation 1:9 referring to the wrath of God being poured out upon John? So this idea that "well, tribulation, that's God's wrath", you know, that is just what THEY say it is, but is that really biblical? Does tribulation have to be God's wrath. Tribulation just means trouble just means trouble, persecution, affliction. Now look, tribulation could be referring in other places to God afflicting someone. But 9 times out of 10 it's man afflicting someone. When the word tribulation is used, okay? And here we see that John is our companion in tribulation. Now he says "I John, who also am your brother", who is he talking to when he says "your brother"? Is he not talking to the reader? Blessed is he that readeth. And who is the reader? Remember the book is to show unto HIS SERVANTS, things which must shortly come to pass. You know what that tells me? That tells me that if you are a servant of Jesus Christ, you are going through tribulation. And people think that they can serve Jesus Christ and live for God, and do great things for God, and not be persecuted, they're wrong, because the Bible says "yea and ALL that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution". It doesn't say most. "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing had happened unto you". Because let me tell you something. EVERY servant of God is going to go through tribulation in their life. That is what it means to be a servant of God. You WILL be persecuted. You WILL suffer. You WILL be afflicted. But be thou faithful unto death, and He will give you a crown of life, we will talk about that in the next chapter. But he says here, that John is our companion in tribulation and the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, verse 10 "I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice AS of a trumpet", so did he hear a trumpet? No. But he heard a voice like a trumpet. What does that mean? Well in Isaiah 58:1, the Bible says "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet". And what he is saying there, when he says a voice like a trumpet, he is saying a very loud voice, because trumpets are very loud. So a voice like a trumpet is a very loud voice. And the voice said "I am Alpha and Omega", verse 11, "the first and the last, and what thou seest write in a book, and send it unto the 7 churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks one like unto the Son of man", who is the Son of man? Jesus. He is in the midst of the candlesticks. What did verse 20 say the candlesticks are? The seven churches at the end of verse 20. He is "clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire". What a fearful sight. White hair, white skin, flaming fire eyes. It says in verse number 15 "His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters". I mean when he speaks, it sounds like the rushing of the waves crashing in. And it says "He had in his right hand seven stars", what are the seven stars? The angels of the seven churches, we will get to that in chapters 2 and 3. And it says "And out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword", what is that sword that is coming out of his mouth? The Bible says "For the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart", referring to the word of God there with that two-edged sword. And it says "his countenance", or his face, "was as the sun shineth in his strength". His brightness is so bright, it's like looking into the sun. And you know that if you try to look into the sun- first of all, kids don't do it, if you try you are going to go blind, okay? Don't try this at home. But you know, if you look into the sun, you can't. And if you do it will blind you. And so he is saying that looking upon him was like looking into the sun. And it says "when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead". You can see why. You would just collapse. "And he laid his right hand upon me, saying fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore", referring to the death, burial and resurrection, "amen, and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches". Now in verse 19 there we see an outline in the book of Revelation where he tells him "write the things which thou hast seen". Basically, that's everything that he has seen up unto this point right? Everything he saw up unto this point in chapter one, and he already wrote it down for us. And then he says "the things which are", that's present day events. And then he says "the things which shall be hereafter". Well, look at chapter 4 quickly, and in chapter 4 verse 1, it says "After this I looked and behold, a door was opened in Heaven, and the first voice which I heard was as I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said come up hither and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter". So the Bible is real clear that the "hereafter" phase begins in Revelation 4:1. So the things that are hereafter are shown in Revelation 4:1. The things that he is already seen is everything up to that point in chapter 1. That means that chapters 2 and 3 are the things which are. Meaning present day events, which makes sense, because chapters 2 and 3 are letters to 7 churches talking about the trials and the struggles that they were going through at that time, presently. Now many people will mistakenly teach that chapters 2 and 3 are about future events. Now, although there are things in chapter 2 and 3 that symbolize future events, no question about that. He does make reference to His second coming, he makes reference to things that can be tied in with future events symbolically. But the primary application is, that they are the things that are. This is not "giving us an outline of the different church ages", and I will deal with that more in chapters 2 and 3. But what he is giving us, is messages to things that were happening at that time. Messages to the churches at that time. And so, all that to say this. The book of Revelation can be easily understood if you are saved, and if you get rid of false doctrine and preconceived ideas. Stay with us through the rest of the series here. Because if you'll listen to all of these, you will know the book of Revelation very well, if you get through all 22 sermons. Let's bow our heads and have a word of Prayer. Father we thank you so much for your Word. And we thank you so much for the power of your word. Thank you for revealing these things to us and not hiding them for us. Thank you for making it so clear and for explaining it to us. Help us to be diligent and to study your word, and in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Now revelation chapter 2 beginning in verse number one, the Bible reads “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write, these things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks”, and then he begins to give the message to the church at Ephesus. Now if you remember at the end of chapter 1, Jesus Christ had told John that he had a message specifically for each of these 7 specific churches in Asia. And in chapters 2 and 3 we are going to get into those messages that are tailored to those churches. Now the whole book of Revelation was sent to each of the 7 churches. It says in verse 2 “I know thy works and thy labour and thy patience. And how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not. And hast found them liars, and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. So in these first few verses, Jesus Christ has alot of positive things, alot of good things to say about the Church of Ephesus. He talks about the fact that they are a very hard working church. He talks about their work and their labour. Their patience. And he says how they cannot bear them which are evil. And that they have tried them which say they are apostles and are not and hast found them liars. So here is a church that was good at recognising false doctrine. Good at recognising false prophets and false teachers who would creep in claiming to be apostles. They couldn’t bear with them that were evil. They took a stand against that which was wrong. And the Bible says that they had not fainted, they were a church that endured and continued in the faith. But look, it says in verse 4 something negative. “Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou are fallen and repent. And do the first works. Or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.” So, the messages to these churches, often Jesus Christ has some good things to say about a church, and also some bad things to say. Here they are being commended for their hard work. They are being commended for exposing false prophets and false teachers. But he says “you have lost your first love.” Now how are they going to get their first love back. He says “remember therefore from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works.” So notice, it’s possible for a church to get caught up in doing alot of works, but it’s not the first works. It’s not the works that God wants them to be doing. You say “what does he mean by that? What is the first love? Or what are the first works?” Well, if you think about what the first works were. When Jesus Christ instituted the church, and when he set up the church, what was the first thing he sent them out to do? You know, he sent them out to preach the gospel to every creature. Jesus Christ himself said that he was come to seek and to save that which was lost. And if you remember, he sent out his apostles two by two to go everywhere preaching the gospel. And then also in Acts chapter 1, when we see Jesus Christ ascend up to heaven, the last thing he told them to do before he ascended up to heaven, was to be witnesses unto him, both in Jerusalem and all Judaea and Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. At the end of the book of Mathew, at the end of the book of Mark, Luke, John...They’re always being given this commission to go out and to preach the gospel to every creature. That was supposed to be the main goal, and the main purpose of the church, to go out and reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. To preach the gospel to every creature and to win souls. And it is possible for churches to get so busy doing alot of other works, that they forget their first love, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of people that compels us to go out and win the lost, and to go out and reach people with the gospel. Now, notice. The way to get your first love back is to do the first works. And by doing the first works, you will get the first love. You see, when you are out knocking doors, preaching the gospel to every creature... When you are out winning souls to Jesus Christ out in the highways and hedges. You know, that is going to put alot of love in your heart. You know, when you get out there, and you’ve got your Bible, and you’re giving the gospel to somebody is not saved, you know what? That’s when you will understand what love for the lost is. But, all that to say this. This particular church at Ephesus, no longer exists anymore. This church that was good in alot of areas, but they had lost their first love. That church no longer exists. You couldn’t go attend that church today. You say “well, then that means that this scripture is not applicable.” Well no, because obviously we could apply this today to any church, couldn’t we? You see, there could be a church today that’s alot like the church at Ephesus, that’s lost their first love. Now as we see these messages to the 7 churches. They had good things, and in many cases they had bad things said about them. But we can apply those things to us and say “wait a minute, if he didn’t want the church at Ephesus to lose their first love, he doesn’t wasn’t us to lose our first love.” Later on he is giving a talk about the church at Thyatira, that had fornication present in that church. Well, obviously we can look at that, and see Jesus Christ’s reaction and anger toward fornication, and realise that God is just as angry today about fornication in a church. Or later on when he talks about a church that is being persecuted and going through great tribulation and trials. We can apply that to our church when we’re going through great tribulations or trials. You see any church can go through phases in it’s life, where it’s like the church at Ephesus, or where it’s like the church at Smyrna, or where it’s like the church at Pergamos. These are basically pattern churches. Where we can look at the things that were said unto them and apply them unto our own churches today. Now alot of people teach that these 7 literal churches were actually “ages”, or periods of time. I have heard it said this way “well, you know, right after the time of Christ, was the Ephesus church age. Then we get into the Smyrna church age. Then we get into the Pergamos church age.” And then of course, everybody always says “we’re living in the Laodicean church age”, which is the last of the 7 churches that’s addressed. And if you remember the problem with the church at Laodicea, was they were lukewarm, they were neither cold nor hot. And they say “well if you look around today at believers, they’re very luke warm, they’re neither cold nor hot, because we’re living in the Laodicean church age.” Now, I don’t believe that for one second. And there are a few reasons why. First of all, I do not believe in the doctrine of what is called “the universal church”. This teaching that says “all believers in the whole world make up what’s known as the church”. If you study what the word church means in the Bible, it means congregation, or assembly, or a group of people. So if the word church means a congregation... You say “prove that the word means congregation!” Okay. Well in Hebrew chapter 2, it says in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. Well that’s a quote from psalm 22:22, when he said in the midst of the congregation will I sing praise unto thee. When he quotes it in the NT it becomes “in the midst of the church.” So you can see that whenever he quotes a verse in the OT that uses congregation, in the NT he uses the word church. Why? Because the church is a congregation. And so people are congregated, that’s what a church is, and assembly of believers. Now let me ask you this. Am I congregated or assembled with all believers in the world, with everyone who is saved? Absolutely not. Now when we get to heaven we will be. When we are caught up together with Christ in the clouds we will be assembled with all believers. But at this time all believers are not assembled. But we do have local assemblies don’t we? The church at Ephesus, the church at Smyrna, the church at Pergamos, you know, the church at Tempe, the church in Sacramento, the church in Dallas, Fort Worth. It doesn’t matter where, whether it’s in Miami Florida, or whether it’s in New York City. These are assemblies of believers. They are churches, plural. And Jesus Christ is the head of the church. Meaning that he ought to be the head of every church. Each church has Jesus Christ as it’s head, if it is a scriptural church. So when we talk about “you know, the Laodicean church, is this...” And they try to lump all Christianity today as “the Laodicean church age.” That’s not true because there are alot of churches out there, that are like Laodicea. But let me tell you something. Not every church is like Laodicea, and not every church has to be lukewarm, and not every church has to discuss Jesus Christ to the point where he would spit them out of his mouth, as he said about the Laodicean church. Look, churches can go through a phase where they are lukewarm, maybe the church down the street might be lukewarm, but every church isn’t lukewarm. And you know oftentimes, it’s just an excuse for being lukewarm. “Well, we ARE living in the Laodicean church age, so no wonder nobody in our church does any soul winning. No wonder nobody in our church is not excited.” No. We need to get excited! And maybe people aren’t excited, because the pastor is not excited. And the preacher is not getting them excited, he is NOT preaching the word of God like he is supposed to, he is NOT filled with the spirit, they’re not filled with the spirit! It has nothing to do with the age that we are living in! It has to do with the fact that we need to read Revelation 3, and understand what we need to change in order to not be lukewarm. And when we look at Ephesians, we need to see hey, we don’t want to lose our first love. Let’s get out and do the first works. Let’s get out there and go soulwinning, and let’s go out and preach the gospel to every creature, so that our love can burn bright, and not as the Bible says in Mathew 24, that our iniquity would abound, that would cause our love to grow cold. And we would lose our first love. And so I want you to be very clear on this. These are literal physical churches that had various problems. And they also had various strengths. And we’re not talking about “church ages” or “periods of time”. That is a man made false doctrine that’s not Biblical. It doesn’t match up with the reality of the Bible. Now, although these churches were literal churches that no longer exist today, we can apply the principles that he gave to them, unto ourselves and unto churches in the day that we live. Not only that, there are certain things that are spoken to these churches that are symbolic. And they have underlying meaning. So basically there is a surface meaning, of the literal interpretation of what he was saying specifically to that church at Ephesus. But then often there are also underlying more symbolic meanings under the surface, and we will get into that in a moment. But look if you would at verse number 7. “He that hath an ear”, this is the last thing that he says to the church at Ephesus. “He that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Now what does it mean, “to him that overcometh”? This is a phrase that you are going to see over and over again. He says it to every one of these seven churches. He says “to him that overcometh, to him that ovvercometh, to him that overcometh.” Well, let’s look up what the Bible teaches about the subject of overcoming, because it is a word that is not often used in the Bible. It’s only used a few times. Go back to 1st John chapter 5, just a few pages to the left in your bible. And let me show you what the Bible is talking about when it says “overcometh”. Look at 1st John chapter 5, verse 4. The Bible says “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” Watch this. “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.” So right there the Bible says that if we’re born of God, we overcome the world. So overcoming the world is being born of God, or born again. It’s being saved. And he says “who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the son of God.” So the one who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, that’s the one who is again. That’s the one who overcomes the world. Have you got that there in 1st John 5? Now, go to Revelation 21, let me show you how consistent this is. Because the concept of “overcoming” is mentioned in 1st John 5, we see it alot in Revelation 2 and 3, but then it pops up again in Revelation 21. Look at verse number 7. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” So according to this verse, overcoming makes you a son of God. In 1st John 5, overcoming meant you were born of God. See how it’s the same thing? And how do we overcome? He said “who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” That’s salvation. And when the Bible talks about overcoming, it is talking about salvation. It is really clear when you look at the next verse 8 there in Revelation 21. “But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable, and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death. So there is those who overcome, that is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and then there are those who are cast into the lake of fire. He lists all those sins there that wind you up in the lake of fire, but let me tell you something. You probably haven’t done all the things on the list, neither have I. But I guarantee you, you have done something on that list. Fearful. Unbelieving. ALL liars. There is not a person on this earth that has never lied before. And even lying will wind you up in hell. But thanks be to God, if we believe on Jesus Christ, all of our sins are washed away, we’re washed from our sins in his own blood as it says in Revelation 1. So let’s go back to chapter 2, now that we laid down the concept of overcoming. So we saw that the church of Ephesus, their problem was that they had lost their first love. And the reason that they had lost their first love, was that they weren’t doing the first works. They were spinning their wheels, they were doing alot of work, but it wasn’t the first works, it wasn’t what Jesus wanted them to do. And he warns them to get that right. And he said “to him that overcometh”, he said “will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Again, this has to do with salvation, because if you remember back in the garden, Adam and Eve, they ate of the tree of life. And after they had sinned by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. And the reason why they were cast out, is that God said that if they were not cast out, they would eat of the tree of life and live forever. So they were cast out, so they would not eat of the tree of life and live forever. Because the tree of life is associated with eternal life. And if you study the Bible, especially in Revelation 22 we see that in the new heaven and the new earth there in the description, he talks about a river of the water of life, and he says on either side of the river was there the tree of life. So basically multiple trees of life growing there, and he says that basically we will eat of the fruit thereof, we will live forever, we will have eternal life. So that fits in perfectly with the fact that when it says that “he that overcometh”, it’s referring to those that are saved. Because they are going to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Study the word paradise. It’s talking about heaven. 2nd Corinthians 12 is a great example, where he says he was caught up into paradise, and he follows it up by saying he was caught up into the 3rd heaven. He uses “the 3rd heaven” and “paradise” interchangeably, because of the fact that paradise is heaven. “You say, why is it the 3rd heaven?” Because there are basically 3 heavens. There is the heaven, what we call the sky, we call that the heaven, and then we call the universe, when we look at all the stars and so forth, the Bible calls that “the heaven”, and then the place where God lives is called heaven, that’s the 3rd heaven. And that’s a whole other sermon in itself, the 3 heavens. Look at verse 8, it says “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, these things saith the first and the last, which was dead and is alive.” Of course, Jesus Christ speaking there. He says in verse 9, “I know thy works, and tribulation and poverty, but thou are rich.” So here is a church that is a hard working church, but they’re going through some trials and tribulations. He says they have poverty. But look what he says there in parentheses, “but thou art rich”. See, physically, they were poor, they didn’t have any money on this earth, but, they were rich in good works. And look what he says next, “And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation 10 days, be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” So, he talks about the fact that they are going through tribulation, and he said that they were suffering and they should not fear the things that they are suffering. He says “you are going to be cast into prison, be faithful unto death”. He is talking about people being killed for the cause of Christ, going into prison for the cause of Christ. And in the midst of this, he throws in this statement, “I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.” Now what is that statement doing in the midst of a discussion about tribulation, persecution, prison, martyrdom. Why bring up the synagogue of Satan? Why bring up these people that say they are Jews and are not, but do lie? Well it’s very easy to understand once you identify who the synagogue of Satan is. Go to Romans chapter 2 if you would. Romans chapter 2. Now, I have heard alot of preaching that discussed the synagogue of Satan and... I personally have never heard any preacher that I listened to, properly identify the synagogue of Satan. And it always boggled my mind, because to me it is very obvious when you just read this passage and just take it for what it says who the synagogue of Satan are. First of all, they are someone who says they are a Jew. Now, doesn’t that eliminate alot of people right away? I mean, does everybody that you know say that they are a Jew? Does every religion that is on this planet claim to be Jews, and say “we are Jews! I am a Jew!” No. Whoever the synagogue are, they are people who say that they are Jews. But are they Jews? No they’re not. Now the other thing that you should notice is that this group is called “the synagogue of Satan”. Does every religion have synagogues? Does every person go to a synagogue? Or is every person a member of a synagogue? No. But if we look at this it is very obvious when we think about the fact that there is a group of people in this world who DO go to a synagogue, who DO have a synagogue, and who say that they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. And that is people who follow the religion of Judaism. Now you say “Waaaaaaiiiit a minute pastor Anderson. There’s no way they are the synagogue of Satan. Because they are saying they are Jews, and they really ARE Jews, can’t you see that they are Jews pastor Anderson? You know, these people that go to the synagogue and that practice Judaism? Can’t you tell by the black hat that they are wearing? Can’t you tell by the way that they dress, and maybe the little hat that they have on the back of their head? Can’t you see the kosher meal being ordered on the airplane and know that these are Jews Pastor Anderson??” But hold on a second. Are they really Jews? These that go to a Jewish synagogue, these that practice the religion of Judaism? Well, look down at your Bible. The Bible says in Romans 2:28, “For he is NOT a Jew, which is one outwardly.” So could it be that there are some that we look at outwardly and we say “hey! There’s a Jew! Yep, that’s a Jew” and really they are not a Jew? He says “For he is not a Jew which one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.” So let me ask you something. Do you think that the guy that Paul is talking about in Romans 2, who he says “well he is NOT A JEW which is one outwardly”, do you think that guy goes around saying that he is a Jew? I bet you he does, of course he does. But Paul says, “Nope, he’s not a Jew. He says he is one, but he is not.” I will prove it to you further. Look at Philippians 3. Keep in mind, Philippi is a city of Macedonia. Paul is writing unto the gentiles in Philippians 3. And look what he says in verse 3. “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice”, listen to this “IN CHRIST JESUS, and have no confidence in the flesh.” SO according to that, who is the true circumcision? Those who rejoice in Christ Jesus. Let me ask you this. Does the Jewish synagogue, or the religion of Judaism rejoice in Christ Jesus? What does Christ mean? Christ means messiah. Does Judaism teach that Jesus is the Messiah? No, Judaism does not teach that Jesus is the Messiah. They don’t rejoice in Christ Jesus, and let me tell you something, then let me tell you something. THEY’RE NOT THE CIRCUMCISION. You say, “Well they are physically circumcised.” That means nothing in the sight of God. God says that the true circumcision that matters today in the NT is the circumcision of the heart and of the spirit. And it’s those who rejoice in Christ Jesus that are the circumcision. He said he is NOT A JEW which is one inwardly, he IS A JEW which is one INWARDLY. CIRCUMCISION IS NOT THAT OUTWARD CIRCUMCISION OF THE FLESH! It’s of the heart and the spirit. And so those who practice the religion of Judaism, they say they are Jews but they are not Jews, because they are not inwardly a Jew. They are not circumcised in the heart. They don’t rejoice in Christ Jesus. And by the way, he said “and have no confidence in the flesh.” They’re trusting in the flesh today to save them. They are trusting in works today to save them. They don’t trust in the faith of Jesus Christ to save them. Now, look at 1st John 2. You say, “Pastor Anderson, you are not meaning to say that they are the synagogue of Satan? Where does Satan come into play?” Well look at 1st John chapter 2 verse 18. The Bible says “little children it is the last time. And as ye have heard that antichrist shall come”, now is that singular or plural? Singular. “As ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time.” So there is one guy singular that is called “the Antichrist” that is coming. But there are also many antichrists, plural. Whereby we know that it is the last time. Let’s get a little insight into who these antichrists are. Look at verse 22. “Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ. He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” So the Bible says, that someone who is an antichrist, is someone who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Now, in order to deny that Jesus is the Christ, you have to believe that there is a Christ, but that it’s not Jesus. Because if you are going to deny that Jesus is the Christ, that means that you believe that there is a Christ, but that you believe it’s not Jesus. Well, what religion out there teaches that there is a Messiah- because remember, Christ means Messiah. In John 1 it says “we have found the Messiah, which is to say being interpreted the Christ.” What religion out there teaches that there is a Messiah coming but that it is not Jesus? Judaism. They teach that Jesus was not the Messiah. And so the Jews today are antichrist. And you say “oh, you’re racist, you’re anti-Semitic.” No, I’m not talking about a nationality my friend. I’m not talking about a race. There are people that are of the lineage of the tribe of Judah, you know that come from the land of Israel today that believe on Jesus Christ. They’re saved. They are God’s people. But when I am talking about the Jews being the synagogue of Satan, I am talking about just that. THE SYNAGOGUE of Satan. Is a synagogue a race? Or is a synagogue (part of) a religion? A synagogue is (part of) a religion. And so when he says “the synagogue of Satan”, we’re not talking about people that are racially Jews, quote unquote, we are talking about people who follow a religion that teaches another Messiah that is not the Lord Jesus Christ. That is an antichrist religion. Those who deny that Jesus is the Christ, the Bible... Look, I’ll just read it again for you. It’s so clear. “WHO IS A LIAR, BUT HE THAT DENIETH THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST? HE IS ANTICHRIST.” That’s saying anyone who denies that Jesus is the Messiah is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the son. You say “well, the Jews, they worship the same God we do, they just don’t believe in Jesus, but they do worship the same God.” Well look what it says in verse 23. “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. But he that acknowledgeth the Son HATH the Father also.” So according to this, they don’t have the Father. You say “No, they have the Father, they just don’t have the Son. They understand and believe in God the Father, they just don’t have the Son.” No, no, no. If you don’t have the Son, you don’t have the Father. If you don’t believe in Jesus Christ, you don’t believe in God the Father. They believe in another God, that is not God the Father from the Holy Bible. Because it is impossible to believe on, the... That’s why Jesus said “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he spake of me.” That proves that those who follow the religion of Judaism, don’t even believe Moses. You say “well, they believe the first 5 books of the Bible.” According to Jesus they don’t believe any of the Bible. Because if they believed any of it, they’d believe on Jesus. If they had the Father, they would have the son. If they believed in Moses, they would believe in the NT. You see, they just flat out don’t believe the Bible, because they are part of a religion which according to the Bible is an antichrist religion. You say “well, Judaism is pretty close.” And some people will even say this... “Judeo- Christian religion.” No. How about just “Christian” religion? Because Judaism has nothing to do with Christianity, it is a false religion. It is an antichrist religion. And I have got news for you. The Bible has got a name for it. “The synagogue of Satan”. And the reason I make such a big deal about that- and let’s go to one more place, 1st Thessalonians 2. Because a lot of people today have bought into this philosophy, sometimes it is known as Zionism. And sometimes it is known as Dispensationalism. But basically this doctrine that teaches that the Jews are God’s chosen people. I’m sure you have all probably heard that before. You say “well the JEWS, they’re God’s chosen people”. Now, we’re talking about people that don’t even believe in Jesus. We’re talking that people that believe in another Messiah, another Christ, they are ANTICHRIST. The Bible calls them the synagogue of Satan. And they say these Jews that don’t even believe in Jesus, they say “those are God’s chosen people”. Just by virtue of their ethnicity. They just are automatically God’s chosen people. And here is what they say, “if you bless them, God will bless you. And if you curse them, God will curse you.” That’s not what the Bible teaches. That promise was made unto Abraham and to his seed. That seed was Christ. He said if you are in Christ you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Read Galatians 3 my friend, it’s crystal clear. But look at this. Tell me if this sounds like the Jews who do not believe in Christ are under God’s blessing. 1st Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 14. “But ye brethren became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus, for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us.” So we are talking about the Jews that “killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us, and they PLEASE NOT GOD, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway”, WATCH THIS, “for the WRATH is come upon them to the uttermost.” So according to this, God’s wrath is on the Jews. Not his blessing. Why does that surprise you, when the Bible says “he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. Didn’t God tell us that the wrath of God abided on those who don’t believe on His Son, Jesus Christ? If Judaism does not believe on the Son, His wrath is on them, not His blessing. And so this doctrine that says “they are God’s chosen people, they are under His blessing, they are the elect of God”, that is just a false doctrine, plain and simple. I mean the Bible just does simply not teach that. Now go back if you would to revelation 2 with that in mind. Now what did we just read in 1st Thessalonians 2 that the Jews were guilty of? Well, killing Jesus, killing the prophets, and persecuting the apostles of Jesus Christ. Read the book of Acts. And in the book of Acts, the early believers are always being persecuted aren’t they? They are constantly being thrown in prison. They are constantly under attack. And notice, who is always the one doing the persecuting? Every time, it is always the Jews. I mean, look. In Acts, you won’t find the Romans persecuting Christians. I am not saying it didn’t happen later. I am saying in Bible times, in the book of Acts, the one group that is always the one persecuting the Christians is the Jews. Now doesn’t that make perfect sense with what he says here in Revelation 2 when he says “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer”, verse 10, “behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation 10 days. Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.” So isn’t it interesting? Right after he says “I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan”, he starts talking about how they are going to be thrown in prison and killed. Why? Because he is referring to persecution that is going to come at the hand of the Jews. Because that’s who was persecuting the Christians at that time. And so it makes perfect sense. So when the Bible talks about the synagogue of Satan, he is referring to the fact that the Jews are the synagogue of Satan. They are the only religion with synagogues! They are the only ones who are going around saying they are Jews! And the Bible says if they don’t rejoice in Christ Jesus, they’re not the circumcision. If they’re not a Jew inwardly, they’re not really a Jew in God’s eyes. They don’t believe in Christ. Remember when they tried to tell Jesus in John chapter 8, “Abraham is our father!” And Jesus said “if Abraham were your father, you would do the works of Abraham.” He turned around and said “you are of your father the devil.” Okay? And so we can see how they can be easily called the synagogue of Satan, because the Pharisees and the Sadducees, which is basically the same as Judaism today- a false works based religion that claims to be based on the OT, but rejects Jesus Christ. That’s the Pharisees. That’s the Jews. He told them “you are of your father the Devil.” The Bible calls them the synagogue of Satan. It makes perfect sense. Now, the reason I went into so much detail on that, is because we are talking about the book of Revelation, we are talking about end times Bible prophecy, and a lot of people will say this, they say “well the tribulation is all about the Jews.” And you will try to show them scriptures about Christians going through tribulation. Or you try to show them that the rapture comes after the tribulation, according to Mathew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, according to the Book of Revelation itself, when you see the rapture take place. And they say “no, no, no Pastor Anderson. The church or Christians”, they say “has nothing to do with the tribulation because” they say “the tribulation is ALL ABOUT the Jews. The tribulation has nothing to do with Christians or the church or church age saints”- I am just using the terms they use... And they say it’s all about the Jews. I’m sure you have heard people say that before. But here is the funny thing about that. You know if you look at the book of Revelation, the only time the book of Revelation ever mentions the Jews, using that word, “the Jews”, okay, or just “Jews”, or “Jew”... The only time it uses the word “Jew” is chapters 2 and 3 when it calls them the synagogue of Satan. (Laughs). That’s the only time. So if “the tribulation is all about the Jews”, wouldn’t you expect it to keep mentioning “the Jews, the Jews, the Jews, the Jews...” But the only time it mentions them, is when it says they are the synagogue of Satan, in chapters 2 and 3. So don’t ever let anybody tell you the tribulation is all about the Jews. That’s a false doctrine. You know it’s funny. This has nothing to do with the sermon, but, Joseph Smith, who knows who Joseph Smith is? The founder of the false religion “Mormonism”, latter day Satan, I mean, I’m sorry, latter day saints. This guy Joseph Smith who founded this false religion of Mormonism, he founded Mormonism in the year 1830, and in 1830 after he had written the false Bible known as the Book of Mormon which was supposedly “another testimony of Jesus Christ”, which is, you know... That’s another sermon to explain all that. But, when he wrote the book of Mormon when he was done, he started his own changes to the Bible. And his own translation of the Bible where he just changed things. And in Mathew 24, where it said “then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, no nor ever shall be”, you know what Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism changed it to? He changed it to “then shall be great tribulation, upon THE JEWS.” So he added those three words, “upon the Jews”. So you see Satan’s lie is that “oh the tribulation, that’s all about the Jews, that’s all about God’s chosen people, the Jews.” Yeah, I’m sure Satan would love to call his synagogue God’s chosen people. But they’re not. They are his people, okay? And so again. Go ahead and call me a racist. It had nothing to do with race, it’s a religion, but people are going to call me that anyway, so whatever. I am going to preach the truth and let the chips fall where they may. If you don’t like it then well, sorry. But anyway, let’s move on from that. We know who the synagogue of Satan is, it’s pretty clear. Now in verse 10, and look... These are literal events that took place at that time. This church literally had people, listen to me now. The church at Smyrna literally had people that were put into prison, weren’t they. And the church at Smyrna literally had people who had to decide they were going to be faithful to death. I mean these are real events that took place thousands of years ago. But they also have a symbolic meaning. You see the Bible is trying to drive in with us, first in chapter one when John said he was going through chapter one, in verse 9, now in chapter 2, twice he talks about a Godly church, a righteous church going through tribulation. He is laying down a principle of God’s people going through tribulation. Not like Joseph Smith, the perverted founder of Mormonism, who said “the tribulation is all about the Jews. Tribulation upon the Jews” in his book the Pearl of Great Price. No. We are talking about the biblical doctrine talks about God’s people going through tribulation. The church at Smyrna going through tribulation. The apostle John going through tribulation. So that principle is being laid down here. In fact, the word tribulation is only used 5 times in the book of Revelation and all 5 are talking about God’s people going through it. We have already looked at 3. John in chapter 1. Church in Smyrna twice, that’s 3 times now we have seen God’s people going through tribulation in the book of Revelation. But not only that there is an interesting statement made part way through verse 10. It says “ye shall have tribulation 10 DAYS”. Now he gives a specific length of time. Now, I believe of course that we should always go with the literal interpretation of God’s Word first. And so the literal interpretation of this verse, is that the church at Smyrna, literally went through a 10 day period of tribulation. They went through 10 days of severe persecution, or you know, being thrown into prison, you know, maybe being killed. Obviously “yea and all that will live Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”, we are always going to go through hard times. But, for some reason, this church at Smyrna went through 10 days of very serious tribulation. But not only that, there is a deeper symbolic meaning. You see, everything in the Bible is there for a reason. Nothing in the Bible is coincidental, incidental, or accidental. And there is actually a very significant meaning to that period of time, 10 days in regard to the tribulation of God’s people. Go back to Leviticus chapter 23. Now you may be surprised saying “man, why would we turn back to Leviticus? Talking about Bible prophecy and we are going to Leviticus?” You know, and that should be a lesson that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine. And you know it is amazing. One thing that I have noticed as I have studied the second coming of Christ, and as I have studied the book of Revelation and Bible prophecy... is that literally there are passages in virtually every book in the Bible that deal with end times Bible propechy, and that deal with the second coming of Christ. I mean even in Genesis. There are a lot of- I mean look, Noah, Lot... These are both illustrations of His second coming, and illustrations of endtimes Bible prophecy. But, even the book of Leviticus actually teaches on end times Bible prophecy, whether you knew that or not. Now, Leviticus chapter 23 is an interesting chapter. It goes through the feasts of the Lord, and bear with me here, because I am going to explain something. Remember, I want to explain to you why he told the church at Smyrna they would have tribulation 10 days. Yes I believe in a literal application there. But there is also a symbolic meaning with those 10 days. Now in Leviticus 23, I am going to explain why... The feasts of the Lord are laid out. You see, the children of Israel were commanded to celebrate certain feast days throughout the year. Now, these feast days can be pretty much grouped into the “spring” feasts, and the “fall” feasts, so the harvest feasts. So when you are looking at Leviticus chapter 23 there, you will see some feasts taking place in the first month. Now first of all I want you to understand that the calendar that the Hebrews use was a little different to our calendar today in the sense that we start our calendar in January. Pretty much in the dead of winter, that’s when we say that our year begins. Well, most calendars throughout history have started in the spring. You can notice even with our current calendar, that the numbering of the calendar is a little off. For example, the month that we call “October”, when you see “octo”, what number do you think of when you see “octo”? Eight, right, like an octopus. So, October, is that the eighth month? No, it’s the 10th month isn’t it? And when you see “November”, that’s similar to, for example the Spanish word for 9, “nueve”. Or “Diez (dee-ess)” is the Spanish word for 10. December, “diez”. Okay, why? Because December used to be tenth month, November used to be the ninth month, October used to be the eight month. Basically, our month of March, is close to what used to be considered the first month. So the year used to start in the spring, okay, and that would be around March. So when we see in chapter 23, when he talks about these feasts in the first month, these are springtime feasts. And I’m going to skip through for sake of time, I don’t want to spend a lot of time on the spring feasts, but we have the Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, the firstfruits, okay? Then, you number 50 days, and you have what is called the “day of Pentecost”, or the feast of weeks. Then, you have the fall feasts, in the seventh month of the year. So basically the 7th month of the year would b similar to around the time of September, October, right? Because remember, we are a couple of months off on our reckoning. So, in the book of Leviticus, you have these 7 feast days. You have got the three right at the beginning, which are the Passover, unleavened bread and the first fruits, then you have the Pentecost, then you have the fall feasts, which are “the blowing of the trumpets” is the first one, “the day of atonement” is the second one, and the “feast of tabernacles” is the next one. Now, you say “what’s the significance?” Well, here is what’s interesting. Jesus Christ fulfilled all of the springtime feasts the first time he came into the world. Jesus Christ WAS the Passover wasn’t he? He was the Passover lamb, which taketh away the sins of the world. Jesus Christ also fulfilled the feast of unleavened bread. He was the bread of life, he was the unleavened bread, he broke unleavened bread with his disciples. Then the Bible teaches that Jesus was the firstfruits of the resurrection. So he fulfilled the feast of the firstfruits by rising from the dead. And what’s amazing, is that he fulfilled these feasts EXACTLY. Because he was literally killed on the 14th day of the first month. Study your Bible. And he literally rose again on the day that was the feast of the first fruits. So he fulfilled these feasts with his first coming, then of course, the feast of weeks, or the day of Pentecost was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. Now, the fall feasts have not yet been fulfilled. The Bible teaches in Mathew 13, it says the Harvest is the end of the world. And it uses the symbolism of a harvest for the end of the world. So basically the fall feasts, so the harvest feasts, so the autumn feasts, are going to be fulfilled at what the Bible calls the end of the world. Which, the Bible, when it talks about Jesus Christ coming in the clouds with great power and glory in Mathew 24, you know the Bible refers to that as the end of the world. At the beginning of Mathew 24, Mark 13 etc. So, Jesus Christ fulfilled all the spring feasts at his first coming, he is going to fulfil all the harvest feasts at his second coming, or the end of the world. Now, how is he going to fulfil these feasts? Well, let’s look at what these fall feasts are. Look down if you would at verse 24 in Leviticus 23 there. “Speak unto the children of Israel saying, in the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath. A memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein, but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, also on the TENTH day of the seventh month, there shall be a day of atonement. It shall be an holy convocation unto you, ye shall afflict your souls.” So he starts to lay out the first two of the fall feasts. He said on the first day of the seventh month, is the blowing of the trumpets. On the tenth day of the seventh month, is the day of atonement. Then a little further down he talks about the fifteenth day of the seventh month being the feast of tabernacles. So we have 3 feasts that Jesus is going to fulfil on his second coming. How is he going to fulfil them? Well, here is what is interesting. That first fall feast, the “blowing of the trumpets”, did you notice how it occurs right smack dab in the middle of the year? Think about it. The first day of the seventh month, what does that mean? Well the first day of the seventh month, that means there have been six months leading up to it, and you have six months to go. So the first day of the seventh month is right dead centre of the year. And it’s the blowing of the trumpets. Then ten days later, you have the day of atonement. Then after that, you have the feast of tabernacles. So stop and think about this? What does the blowing of trumpets represent when it comes to the second coming of Jesus Christ? Now, many people will jump and say, “oh, that’s the rapture! The trumpet is going to sound, the last trump, last trump of the year, blowing of the trumpets, that’s the rapture!” And I have heard a lot of people teach that. Because they believe that the next event on “God’s prophetic calendar” is the rapture. But in fact, the blowing of the trumpets does not represent the rapture at all. Neither is the blowing of the trumpets the last trump. Because of the fact that another trumpet is blown on the tenth day of the seventh month, on the day of atonement. The blowing of the trumpets, what that represents is not the trumpet sounding at the rapture. But rather it refers to an alarm sounding. You see, when the Bible would talk about blowing of trumpets in the OT, it often had to do with sounding an alarm because an enemy was attacking them, and they would blow with the trumpet so that God would save them. Let me read for you from numbers 10. You don’t have to turn there. Listen to Numbers 10:9. “And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppress you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets. And ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.” So the Bible says when there is an enemy that is coming to oppress you, you are supposed to blow with the trumpets, and God is going to save you out of the hand of your enemies. He also talked about it in numbers 31:6 when he referred to going to war, and blowing with the trumpets. Stop and think about this. When it comes to end times Bible prophecy, we know that the book of Revelation deals in great detail with a certain 7 year period of time. Now this entire period of time often called “Daniel’s 70th Week”. That seven year period is often wrongfully called “the tribulation”. A lot of people will often call that whole 7 years... They will say “the seven year tribulation”, but you know what is funny about that? There is no place in the entire Bible that says “seven years tribulation”. And yet people just swear by that. I mean they just take that...”Well OF COURSE, there is a 7 year tribulation, of course”- That is not found in the Bible ANYWHERE. Now here is where people will take you. Because you will tell them “there is no seven years tribulation”. Here is what they will say, “oh yes there is!” You say, “okay, show it to me”. They will take you to Daniel 9:27. It says “and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. And in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. So that right there in Daniel 27 talks about a week which, if you get the context is a 7 year period. And now, in the midst of that week, there is going to be what is called “the abomination of desolation”. But notice about that verse. Did it say that that 7 year period is called the tribulation? Did it say “there is going to be a week, and by the way, it is going to be called the tribulation”? And in fact, it’s easy to prove that that whole week is not called the tribulation because part way through that week, the sun and moon are darkened and the stars fall, and the Bible says, that that is AFTER THE TRIBULATION. So, the first part of the week is called the tribulation, but, the entire seven year period is not known as the tribulation. In fact Jesus does not say that the “great tribulation” begins until the abomination of desolation. He says “when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet”, he said, “THEN shall be great tribulation”. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but in Daniel 9:27, it said in the midst of the week, is the Abomination of Desolation, isn’t that right? So if this whole 7 year period is just known as “the tribulation, the seven year tribulation”, why didn’t he say, “well when you see the abomination of desolation which is in the MIDST of the seven years, then shall be great tribulation”? And THEN he says “when the sun and moon are darkened, tribulation is over.” So if the tribulation is over when the sun and moon are darkened and the stars fall, and the sun and moon are darkened and the stars fall, in Revelation 6- NOT at the end of the seven years, NOT at the end of the week, but rather part of the way through before any of the trumpet or vial judgements, how can you call the whole 7 year period tribulation? Nobody can show me a verse in the Bible that calls the whole 7 years tribulation, and so I refuse to call it that. It’s not what it’s called. Here’s the deal. In the middle of the seven year period that revelation describes, there is what is called the abomination of desolation. I am going to hurry up and just quickly explain this. This is where the antichrist sets up an image, the false prophet sets up an image of the antichrist, and people have to worship the antichrist. And the Bible says that when this takes place, and this is all covered in Revelation 13, that the antichrist will make war with the saints and overcome them. So, again, in the midst of the week, the antichrist makes war with the saints and overcomes them. That is at the time of the abomination of desolation. Well, wait a minute. Remember what feast took place in the dead centre of the year? The blowing of the trumpets. What to trumpets represent in that passage? They represent the blowing of an alarm, of an oppressive enemy? What happens in the dead centre of Daniel’s 70th week, or the seven year period that most of the events of Revelation fall within. What happens? The antichrist makes war with the saints. He is the oppressive enemy, and the blowing of the trumpets is symbolic of the warning sound of the alarm that we are going to be persecuted by the antichrist. That he is going to make war against the saints and overcome them. So the blowing of the trumpets basically represents in biblical prophecy, the abomination of desolation and the antichrist’s war against the saints. And look, that’s when the “great tribulation” begins, does it not. Because Jesus said, “when you see the Abomination of Desolation”, that’s in the middle of the seven years, he said “THEN shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be.” Remember, first day of the seventh month? Middle of the year? Blowing of the trumpets represents the abomination of desolation. Tenth day of the seventh month, there is a trumpet that sounds, that represents the trumpet of the rapture. That trumpet is called the trumpet of jubilee, and it is blown on the day of atonement, on the tenth day of the seventh month, only once every 50 years. Let’s look at that briefly here. Leviticus 25:9. “Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the 7th month. Notice, 10 days after, right? Because look, he says the “tenth day of the 7th month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year”, and watch what the Bible says about the trumpet of Jubilee, “and”, he says, “proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. It shall be a jubilee unto you. And you shall return every man unto his possession, and you shall return every man unto his family.” The first feast was the blowing of the trumpets, representing the antichrist making war with the saints, beginning with the abomination of desolation. The next fall feast, or end of the world harvest feast, is the tenth day of the 7th month, which is the day of atonement, but it is also the day of the blowing of the trumpet of Jubilee. What is that which characterises the day of jubilee, or the trumpet of Jubilee? He said it was proclaiming liberty throughout all the land, and that basically every man would return to his possession and his inheritance. Look at Romans 8, and notice what the Bible says about the resurrection, or the rapture, or the first resurrection. Look at Romans chapter 8m beginning in verse 21. You are going to find some of the same wording that we saw with the Jubilee. It says in verse 21 “because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious LIBERTY of the children of God, for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now”, watch this in verse 23, “and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” So right now, he says our soul is saved, but our body is not going to be saved of course until the resurrection. The first resurrection, or what we call “the rapture”. When in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed. This mortal shall put on immortality. This corruptible shall put on incorruption. And the Bible says we shall be brought from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God, when our body is redeemed. When our body is resurrected. You see at the rapture, that is called the glorious liberty of the children of God. So doesn’t it make sense that in the fall end of the world feasts, the trumpet of the Jubilee proclaiming liberty represents the trumpet sounding when the dead in Christ are raised incorruptible, 1st Corinthians 15:51, and notice also, it’s the last feast trump of that series of feasts. When he goes through these feasts. The last trump there, is the trumpet of trumpet. Last among what series? Well, we already had the blowing of trumpets on the 1st day of the 7th month, then there is one more trumpet that is blown, tenth day of the seventh month. What’s interesting about that is the space between those two events, right? Because blowing of trumpets on the first day, on the tenth day of the seventh month is the trumpet of Jubilee sounding, which is symbolic of the trumpet that is going to sound on the day of the resurrection or the rapture. So, if the war with the saints, or the great tribulation mentioned in Mathew 24 begins at the abomination of desolation at the mid point of the week, and then obviously our persecution and trials and tribulations are over when the rapture happens, because we are caught up to be with Christ... then what period of time is that great tribulation going to encompass? Well, symbolically, when we look at these feasts... we have ten days right there which matches up perfectly with revelation 2:10, “ye shall have tribulation 10 days”. Which ten days? From the first day of the 7th month, to the tenth day inclusively, that’s your ten days of tribulation. Now, you say “Pastor Anderson, will the great tribulation”- and I’m sorry if that whole... If the last ten minutes went over your head then don’t even worry about it because you know, you might need to do a little more study on this... But you know it is time for us to wake up as God’s people, dig in and get the meat of God’s Word. And maybe that went over your head, you know what? You need to do more study, you need to do more reading. You know what? There were a lot of people that understood what I just said, because they have been studying their Bibles. And you know we all need to keep learning, and to keep growing, and to pay attention and to learn these things. But anyway, let’s go back to revelation 2. That was a little heavy. But let me say this. The great tribulation that the Bible mentions in Mathew 24, Mark 13 and elsewhere, will last for more than 10 days. I’m not saying it’s only for 10 days. Because I believe that the great tribulation will last 75 days. If you study this out and understand it. But the 10 days is symbolic of the first day of the seventh month, to the tenth day of the seventh month of these feast days, okay? And again, it’s a lot to go into, it’s a lot to wrap your mind around, but when you study this it just becomes amazing how everything lines up. I mean it will blow your mind. Like, for example, since we are talking about a seven year period of Daniel’s 70th week... and we are talking about it in the dead centre, the abomination of desolation... and then we are talking about “shortly thereafter”, the tribulation being cut short by Jesus Christ coming in the clouds and the trumpet sounding. Sometime during the second half of Daniel’s seventieth week, when you look at it that way, and then you compare it to the Hebrew calendar year, and you overlay the Hebrew calendar year, with the seven years of Daniel’s 70th week which I have done on a chart, and it’s on kjvprophecy.com... If you overlay that, you see that the blowing of the trumpets lines up perfectly with the abomination of desolation, right in the middle. But then you will also see that if you line up the trumpet of the jubilee with the seven year period of Daniel’s 70th week, you will notice that 1335 days in to Daniels 70th week would line up perfectly. Well in Daniel chapter 12, the Bible says “blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days”, and he basically says that Daniel is going to be resurrected at the end of that 1335 days. So that all just lines up perfectly, because if you take 1335, and divide it by 7, you end up with 190, well what is the hundred and ninetieth day of the year? The tenth day of the seventh month. And so, either you think that that is really cool right now, or you have no idea what I just said. But either way, let’s go on and move onto the next church. So we saw that with the church at Smyrna. He said “You shall have tribulation 10 days, be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the SECOND death.” And of course, according to Revelation 21, the second death is the lake of fire. Look at verse 12. We will get into the next church, the church at Pergamos. “Unto the angel of the church in Pergamos write, these things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges. I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is, and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipus was my faithful martyr who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth.” Look, have you noticed a pattern in the book of Revelation yet? In chapter 1, John is being persecuted, John is going through tribulation. The church at Smyrna, they are going through tribulation. They are being persecuted, they are being thrown into prison. They need to be faithful unto death. Now we get into the church at Pergamos... It’s the same thing! He talks about a man who was killed for the cause of Christ. His name was Antipus, and he was a faithful martyr who was slain among them. He says in verse 14, “But I have a few things against thee because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel. To eat things sacrificed unto idols and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitines, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that recieveth it. Unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write, these things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass. I know they works, and charity and service and faith, and thy patience and they works, and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferedst that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.” So the church at Thyatira, he says a lot of good things about the church... Their charity, their service, their faith... And he says, he said he knew their works, and then he mentions their works AGAIN, and then he then he says the last are more than the first.” So here is a church that is increasing in works. Here is a church that is doing better and better. But he says he has something against them, because he says they are “suffering”- or allowing- this woman Jezebel, “which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach”. Now, their first mistake was suffering ANY woman to teach. You say “Pastor Anderson, I can’t believe you would say that”. Well, if you go back to 1st Timothy chapter 2, he says “but I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” Now don’t tell me it’s a coincidence that 1st Timothy 2 clearly commanded and said “I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man but to be in silence”, and then here a church is being rebuked for doing- what? For suffering that woman Jezebel to teach and to “seduce my servants, and to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.” Now, you say “well, the only problem was that this was a BAD woman that they were allowing to teach.” Right, but they weren’t supposed to allow ANY woman to teach, according to 1st Timothy 2. The Bible says “let your women keep silence in the churches”, 1st Corinthians 14. “For it is not permitted unto them to speak. They are commanded to be under obedience as saith also the law.” Now that might not fly today in 2013 to preach, that women are supposed to be in obedience. That women are supposed to keep silence in the churches. That women are not supposed to be allowed to teach in the church. But you know what? THAT’S BIBLE. And just as God was upset at this church, He will be upset today if we don’t listen to what he warns us about. Now, obviously, this woman was doing more than just teaching, she was also seducing God’s servants to commit fornication. Let me ask you this. Are these people that she is seducing to commit fornication saved or unsaved? He said she is seducing “my servants to commit fornication”. So she is seducing those that are saved to commit fornication. People that are serving God in a church, that is a Bible believing church that God is claiming, “yes, they’re my servants”. And basically she is s

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Now in Revelation chapter 3 we’re continuing the personalized messages that Jesus Christ is sending unto the 7 churches. We say 4 of those churches in chapter 2, and in chapter 3 we’re gonna see the remaining 3, look at verse number 1, the Bible reads “and unto the angel of the Church in Sardis write these things saith He that Hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars. I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest and art dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die. For I have not found thy works perfect before God.” So basically, what he is saying to this church, is that they are a church that’s living in the past, they’re riding on their old reputation. He says that they have a name that they live, but they’re dead. And he is saying “be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die; for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Now let me emphasize to you again that these messages to the 7 churches were given unto 7 literal churches that existed in Asia at that time about 2000 years ago. And these churches are told about things that they’re doing well, or things that they’re doing poorly. And the reason why we have these messages in the Book of Revelation today is to provide an example for us and our churches today. These are basically 7 pattern churches. And any church today might find itself in a situation similar to the churches that are listed in the book of Revelation here. For example, there could be a lot of churches today that in the past were great churches, that were on fire, that were winning souls to Christ, that were preaching hard, that were filled with the spirit. But now, they’re starting to die, they’re starting to fade. And yet they still have that reputation that they’re alive. It would be like if someone heard about faithful word Baptist church and they heard about the great things that we’re doing for God and saw all the people that we’re getting saved, and all the doors that we’re knocking. And then lets say they came out here, and we’d all backslidden, we’d all softened up, and that would be the situation that Sardis was in. They had a NAME that they lived, but they’re dead. Now look what he says in verse number 3. “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names, even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments, and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” So here, even though Jesus Christ is rebuking this church, for having a NAME that they live, but being dead.... He still commends some people in the church. He says in verse 4, “thou hast a few names, even in Sardis.” Meaning that the vast majority of the people in the church at Sardis were not living for God and doing what they were supposed to be doing. But he said “thou hast a FEW names”, and he says “EVEN IN SARDIS, that have not defiled their garments, they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” You know what that tells me? That tells me that you’re better off going to a church that’s a little bit of a dead church, than not going to the church at all. You see there are many people today, that can’t find a good church in their area, so they just don’t go to church at all. And the Bible says, “forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is’, he said, “but exhorting one another, and so much the MORE as we see the day approaching.” You know, as we see the day approaching of the second coming of Jesus Christ, we need to be assembled together so much the more. Now is not the time to get out of church. And there are many people who say “well, you know, I can’t find a good church in my area, so I’m just not going to go to church at all, I’m just going to forsake the assembly, but God gives a very stern warning in Hebrews 10 to those that forsake church, and forsake the assembling of themselves together. You see, these people did not have a great church in their area. I mean, Jesus is telling us that the Church in Sardis was a dead church. In the past it had been a great church, but it’s a pretty dead church. BUT, the ones who just went to that church anyway, he says the ones that have NOT defiled their garments, they shall walk with me in white, they are worthy. You know, I would rather have Jesus Christ look down on me from heaven and say that I’m worthy, say that I’ve not defiled my garments, be proud of me for what I’m doing for him, even if I’m going to a church that’s not the greatest church in the world. At least I’m in church. But I’ll promise you one thing. If you’re not in church at all, if you don’t go to church whatsoever, God is NOT pleased with you. Because Jesus Christ said “Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” He said “NOT forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is.” The Bible says he purchased the church with his own blood, and so we are in sin if we just do not go to church. I mean God commands us to be in church, over and over again. Now, although these messages are written to specific churches about things that they were dealing with at that time, and yes they can be used as a pattern for us today... most of these messages to the churches have very clear symbolic meanings that carry over into end times Bible prophecy. So they’re very much at home in the book of Revelation because they have symbolic meanings that can be applied to end-times Bible prophecy. Verse 3 is a perfect example. Look what he tells the church at Sardis in verse 3. “Remember therefore how thou hast seen and heard, and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch”, watch this, “I will come on thee as a thief and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” Go to first Thessalonians chapter 5. 1st Thessalonians chapter 5. Notice he says that he will come on them as a thief IF they do not watch. Did you notice that? He says “IF therefore thou shalt not watch I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” That means that if they are watching, they WILL know what hour he will come upon them, and they WILL NOT be overtaken as a thief. Look at 1st Thessalonians 5, which teaches the exact same thing. Let me of course point out that 1st Thessalonians 4 is the most famous passage in the Bible on what we call “the Rapture”, and what the Bible calls “his coming in the clouds”, where the trumpet sounds, the dead in Christ rise first... In fact, let’s just read a few verses of that. Look at verse number 15 of 1st Thessalonians 4. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with him in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we EVER be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.” Look at the first word of the next verse... “BUT”. Now, “but” is a conjunction, is it not? And a conjunction is something that connects what’s about to be said with what was just said. So in chapter 5 we’re not switching to a completely different subject here. We’re continuing the same thought of chapter 4. Chapter 4 talked about Christ’s coming. He said “the coming of the Lord”, Christ “coming in the clouds”, the dead in Christ rising first, then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together. This is known as the rapture. Let’s see what he says about the rapture in chapter 5 because he continues along the same thought. He says “BUT, of the times and the seasons brethren, you have no need that I write unto you.” The times and the seasons of what? Obviously what he just told us about. I mean, if he just told us about the rapture, and then he says “but”, which is a conjunction, “of the times and the seasons brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you”... Why do we have no need that he write unto us of the times and the seasons of the rapture? He tells us in verse 2. “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” Now ask yourself this question. Why would the timing of the day of the Lord tell us anything about the timing of the rapture? He says, I don’t need to write to you of the times and seasons of the rapture, because you already know that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. Well the reason is simple. Because the rapture takes place ON the day of the Lord. That’s the only way that this would even make sense. And it’s very consistent all throughout scripture, because if you study all the Old Testament passages on the day of the Lord, what do they always emphasize? The sun and moon being darkened, every time. For example, it says “the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come.” Now, the day of the Lord is a very dreadful day for the unsaved, because that’s the day when God begins to pour out His wrath upon this earth. But to us which are saved, it’s a glorious day, it’s an exciting day that we are looking forward to. It’s the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the famous rapture passage in Mathew 24 which says “Immediately AFTER THE TRIBULATION of those days”, and then it mentions the sun and moon being darkened, and it talks about Jesus Christ coming in the clouds to gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. That proves right there again that the day of the Lord and the rapture have the same timing. They take place at the same time. The same day that we’re taken out of this world and removed from this earth at the rapture, is the same day that God begins to pour out His wrath, which is what the day of the Lord is. “The great day of His wrath”, the Bible calls it. But let’s look at this very carefully in 1st Thessalonians 5:1. It says “But of the times and the seasons brethren, you have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. And many people will stop reading there. And they will say, “see, it’s coming as a thief in the night! Jesus Christ is coming as a thief in the night!” And there’s even a movie that was out back in the 70’s called “A Thief in the Night”, and it was explaining how “the rapture could happen at any moment, because it’s coming as a thief in the night.” But really, the rapture cannot happen at any moment, because the Bible is real clear about a lot of things that have to happen first. And, I’m going to prove to you that to us which are saved, he is NOT coming as a thief in the night. Look at verse 3. “For when THEY shall say”, now is this what we’re saying? Or is this what THEY’RE saying? This is what the unsaved, unbelievers are saying, not God’s people. “When THEY shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon THEM, as travail upon a woman with child, and THEY shall not escape.” So notice when it’s talking about the WRATH and the judgement and the punishment, it’s always coming on them, not us, okay? THEY’RE going to say “peace and safety”, and then sudden destruction comes on them. But look at verse 4. “But YE BRETHREN”, he is saying on the other hand, “are NOT in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief.” So according to verse 4, are God’s people going to be overtaken by these events as a thief in the night? No. So it’s not accurate to say that Jesus Christ is coming as a thief in the night to those that are saved. That’s not an accurate thing to say to those that are saved. Now to say that to the unsaved would make perfect sense. But he said “Ye BRETHREN”, “brethren” means you’re saved, you’re a brother in Christ, “are NOT IN DARKNESS that that day should overtake you as a thief. And then he goes on to explain why that day will not overtake us as a thief. He says “ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day. We are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober.” So what’s the difference between us and them? The difference is that they’re asleep and we’re not. The difference is that they are not watching, WE ARE watching. He says “Therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober.” Now, let me ask you this. Is every single believer watching? No. That’s why he’s commanding us to watch. That’s why he’s exhorting us to watch. You see, some people have NO CLUE what Revelation teaches. Thank God for people who are interested enough to listen to the preaching of this series through the book of Revelation, so that they can learn and understand these things, so that they’ll know what to watch for. So they’ll be awake. So that they’ll be able to see the truth and not be in darkness concerning the events of the end times. The unsaved are in darkness, but sadly, many Christians today- even though they don’t have to be in darkness, even though the light is there for them, even though the information is right here in the Bible for them...Even though they could be watching for these things- they’re asleep at the wheel, because they don’t know what’s going on, and that’s why it’s so important we study these things. But he says “let us not sleep as do others.” Don’t be like the unsaved world, in that you know NOTHING about what’s going to come to pass. He says “Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us WATCH and BE SOBER, for they that sleep, sleep in the night. And they that be drunken, are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the DAY, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” Now go back to Revelation 3 with that in mind. So in 1st Thessalonians 5, the Bible was clear about a few things. The Bible was clear that if you’re SAVED, you don’t have to be overtaken by these things as a thief. You will know they’re coming. You have the word of God that has warned you. You know what to watch for. And if you’re awake and watching, you will not be surprised, you will not be overtaken as a thief. He also talks about being drunken. That’s another illustration that he uses in Mathew 24 about the exact same subject. But look at Revelation 3 with that in mind now. Verse 3, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not WATCH, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” So he’s not telling believers “I am coming to you as a thief”, period. He says “ONLY IF YOU ARE NOT WATCHING will it come upon you as a thief. But if you are watching, you are NOT in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief.” Now, we need to be watching for what? And haven’t you heard preachers say “There are NO SIGNS of his coming, there are no signs of the rapture, the rapture can happen at any moment. No prophecies need to be fulfilled before the rapture takes place. That is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible gives us a whole run-down of things that are going to happen first in Mathew 24, and in Mark 13. He tells us about wars, rumours of wars, famines, pestilences... He talks about the abomination of desolation. He says “when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet...” He talks about the sun and moon being darkened. Look, these are all things to be watching for. We need to be watching and seeing these events unfold. Then we will be prepared for what’s coming. But if there are no signs of his coming, if there’s nothing to affect us, what are we watching for? Why does he keep telling us, “Watch. Watch.”? Because there’s something to watch for, that’s why. And in Mark 13 he says “what I say unto you, I say unto all. Watch. And so if we are wise, we will learn what is going to happen first, what the order of events is going to be, what is going to lead up to the second coming of Christ, we’ll be watching for those things, we will be prepared, and will be able to be act as occasion serveth us. But let’s keep going here in Revelation chapter 3. The Bible reads “thou hast a few names”, verse 4, “even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment. And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess His name before my father and before his angels.” And again, we talked about what overcometh means. Go to 1st John 5:4 and 5 to find that answer, but let’s keep moving here. It says “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches.” Verse 7. So that was the message to the church at Sardis. Now let’s look at the message to the church at Philadelphia. “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, these things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth”, (and that’s a quote from Isaiah 22. It says in verse 8, “I know thy works, behold I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word”, notice that phrase- “kept my word”. “Thou hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name”, verse 9. “Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” Now, we talked about the synagogue of Satan when we went through chapter 2. And it’s clear who he is referring to when he talks about the “synagogue of Satan”. First of all, it’s a synagogue. Well, how many religions do you know, that have a synagogue? I only know one. Judaism, okay? I mean if we were to just do a word association game, and say “what do you think of when you hear the word “synagogue”?” People would say Jews, or they would think of Judaism. And it says that they “say they are Jews, but are not, but do lie.” Okay? So, what’s a group that says they are Jews, and goes to a synagogue? See how easy this is? But, you say “well, Pastor Anderson, those really are Jews.” No, the Bible says “for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh.” But he is a Jew which is one inwardly.” And this is in Romans 2:28 and 29. “Circumcision is that of the heart and the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.” The Bible tells the Gentiles in Philippians 3, we are the circumcision if we put on Christ, if we believe in Christ, we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. So these unbelieving Jews who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible says “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son.” They are the synagogue of Satan. And again, it’s not a racial thing, it has to do with religion. When we say the jews, we’re talking about those who worship the religion of Judaism. Obviously there are people who are Jews ethnically who’ve believed on Jesus Christ, they are God’s people. But those who reject Christ are not his people. And I don’t want to repeat that because I went through it in chapter 2. But I want to point out something different about this mention in Chapter 3. Because it says “they say they are Jews and are not, but do lie.” Look halfway down in verse 9 there. “Behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.” So the next thing that we can see about the synagogue of Satan, according to this passage, is that they don’t know that God loves those of Philadelphia, right? Because He is saying, “I am going to MAKE them to come and worship before thy feet, and I am going to MAKE them to KNOW that I have loved thee.” Now, why would the Jews, or the synagogue of Satan question God’s love for those of the church of Philadelphia. Well, I’ll tell you exactly why. Because many Jews- and we see this in the Bible- they had this idea that they are better than everyone else. Didn’t you see that a lot in the book of Acts? Where, you know, they didn’t want anything to do with the gentiles, they’re constantly rebuking the apostles for taking the gospel to the gentiles. The Bible says in 1st Thessalonians 2 that they were “forbidding us to speak to the gentiles that they might be saved.” I mean the Jews had this idea that because God had chosen them above other nations in the Old Testament, they let that go to their head, and they start thinking they’re better than everybody else, and that “God only loves us, and God doesn’t care about anybody else, and that we’re somehow better, and everybody else is a second class citizen.” You know what, in Christ, there is neither Jew nor gentile, okay? And in the New Testament today, the nation of Israel has already been rejected- the PHYSICAL nation of Israel- because “He came unto his own and His own received Him not”. And Jesus told them, “The kingdom of God shall be TAKEN from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” And so many of the Jews today, they somehow think that they are on a higher level... And even a lot of Christians, and Baptists today think that the Jews are somehow special, just by virtue of their ethnicity. They need to think not within themselves to say that they have Abraham to their Father. “God’s able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham”, is what John the Baptist said. And so he said, now think about this... I believe the Bible, and I believe it literally. He tells these people that He will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say that they are Jews and are not, but do lie, to come and worship before their feet, and to know that God hath loved these at Philadelphia. I believe that that will literally take place. I believe that these Jews that were persecuting them. I mean, these are unsaved, unbelieving Jews of the synagogue of Satan is what He called it... And look, any synagogue that denies that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, is the synagogue of Satan. Just as much as Islam is of Satan. Just as much as any false religion is of Satan. A religion that denies that Jesus is the Christ is an antichrist religion. And so those of the synagogue of Satan will be forced to worship before the feet of the church of Philadelphia to know that God loved them. And here’s the thing. Jesus said there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, “when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And he’s saying that the children of the kingdom, meaning the children of the kingdom of Israel, are going to be cast out. He said “many shall come from the east and west and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But he said “you yourselves shall be thrust out.” And he said “you’ll be weeping at that time.” But look at verse 10, verse 10 is a key verse. “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold I come quickly. Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Now this is a verse that those who believe in the pre-trib rapture will often go to as their main proof verse. They say “well of course, there’s a pre-trib rapture, because of Revelation 3:10. It tells us that we will be kept from the 7 year tribulation”, is the way they say it. Now of course, the Bible never says that the tribulation lasts 7 years anywhere. And of course the number 7 is not in this verse. “Tribulation” is not in this verse. Years are not in this verse. Nothing about the coming in the clouds, nothing about a trumpet sounding. And so it’s really silly for them to build their doctrine of a pre-trib rapture so heavily on this verse. You know a lot of times you will ask them, “just show me one verse that teaches a pre-trib rapture, just give me one”. I’ve had them give me this verse! My reaction is, “Are you serious?!” And let’s read this verse again, because I’m sorry, I’m not seeing a pre-trib rapture in this verse at all. It says “because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth.” So if you put your pre-trib, pre-conceived idea glasses on, and you look at this verse, here’s what you see. You see, “Because you’re saved, I’m going to keep you out of the great tribulation!” There’s no mention of tribulation. “Temptation” is not tribulation. I mean I know that both start with a “T”, and end in “tion”, but they are two completely different words, okay? Tribulation and temptation are two different things. And here’s another key point. 1 HOUR is a lot different than several years, do you agree with that? Okay. Now let me just show you how there’s no mention of an hour in regard to the tribulation. I mean you will never see the tribulation related to an hour in the Bible. Even symbolically. But let me show you something that is related to an hour. Go if you would to Revelation 14 verse 7. Revelation 14:7. Now first of all, let me say this. I’m not going to build my whole doctrine on a verse that was spoken to a church that existed a few thousand years ago that doesn’t even exist any longer today. Yes, I realise that there are symbolic meanings, like I showed you the symbolic meaning from the church of Sardis. But the literal application here, is not about endtimes prophecy. The LITERAL application is about stuff that happened a few thousand years ago. So keep that in perspective. But, when we go to look for a symbolic meaning, of Revelation 3:10, a secondary meaning, we have to base it upon some sort of reality. We can’t just make it mean whatever we want. We can’t just make “well, I think it means this...” There has to be some basis in the Bible for our interpretation. Well, if we were, let’s say we wanted to say that chapter 3:10 has something to do with the rapture- and I’m not even saying it does! No clouds, no trumpet, no Jesus Christ coming in the clouds... okay. But hold on a second. Let’s just say, okay, it has some kind of application about the rapture. Well then wouldn’t it make more sense that the rapture would take place before a certain event that’s actually an “hour” event, versus an event of many years? For example, look at Revelation 14:7, the Bible reads, “Saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment IS COME.” Meaning it has just now arrived. “And worship Him that made heaven and earth, and the sea and the fountains of water.” Now if you get the context here of where Revelation 14:7 falls in the book of Revelation, it actually takes place AFTER chapter 13 where he just finished describing the antichrist making war with the saints, persecuting the saints, causing everyone to have to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead to buy and sell. And if they don’t receive the mark in their right hand or in their forehead, they will not be able to buy or sell and they’re going to be beheaded, and he’s going to persecute the saints, he’s going to make war against God’s people and overcome them and so on and so forth. So in Revelation 14:7, that has already happened, what the Bible calls “the tribulation”, and the events of Revelations 13 specifically, where the antichrist is in power over the whole world and so forth... That’s already happened by the time that we get to chapter 14 verse 7, where he says “the hour of his judgement is come”. “And worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea and the fountains of waters.” Go to Revelations 17 verse 12. So, in Revelation, we don’t see the word “hour” used ever symbolically about the tribulation period, about a period of several years, about the period where the antichrist is making war with the saints. God’s hour of Judgment does not come until AFTER the antichrist has made war with the saints. This comes later. Look at Revelation 17 verse 12, it says “and the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet, but receive power as kings ONE HOUR with the beast.” Go to chapter 18. So, I’m just showing you every time the book of Revelation is mentioning an hour in regard to something. Look at chapter 18, because remember chapters 17 and 18 are about the destruction and judgment upon Babylon. And the destruction and Judgment upon Babylon takes place at the very end of Daniel’s 70th week, okay? This is at the very end of the 7 years, toward the very end of the 7 years. Look if you would at verse 10 of Revelation 18. “Standing afar off, for the fear of her torment, saying alas, alas, that great city, For in ONE HOUR is thy judgement come.” Look in verse 17. “For in ONE HOUR, so great riches is come to naught, and every shipmaster, and all the company and ships and sailors and as many as trade by sea stood afar off.” Look at verse 19. “And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying alas, alas, that great city”, talking about Babylon, “wherein were made rich all that ships in the sea by reason of her costliness. For in ONE HOUR is she made desolate.” So, ONE HOUR is used in regard to God’s JUDGEMENT and WRATH that is about to be poured out, because in chapter 14 He is talking about the fact that He is about to pour out His wrath, in chapters 15 and 16 with the 7 vials full of the wrath of God who liveth for ever and ever. And then, the term HOUR is used to describe the time period in which God destroys Babylon and burns Babylon with fire, and demolishes that great city. So, when we look at the term “hour” in the book of Revelation, it is referring to God’s WRATH BEING POURED OUT. The HOUR of God’s Judgement, the HOUR when he pours out His wrath on Babylon, “the HOUR of His judgement is come.” So, does Revelation 3:10, if it’s even talking about the rapture prove a pre-tribulation rapture? No. It only proves a PRE-WRATH rapture. And the tribulation and God’s wrath are two completely different things. Because the tribulation takes place, and it is described in Mathew 24 when he says “then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be.” Then he says “Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light.” So, according to Mathew 24, the sun and moon are darkened AFTER the tribulation. Then in Revelation 6 when we see the sun and moon darkened. AFTER the sun and moon are darkened it says “the great day of His wrath IS COME, and who shall be able to stand?” So the great the great day of the Lord’s wrath comes right AFTER the tribulation. So, if the sun and moon are darkened after the tribulation, and God’s wrath is poured out after the sun and moon are darkened, how can the tribulation and the wrath be the same thing? One of them is before the sun and moon are darkened, one of them is AFTER the sun and moon are darkened. It’s very simple when you look at it that way, to see there’s no way the tribulation is God’s wrath. And if you look up all 22 times that the word “tribulation” is used in the New Testament, you will notice, it’s not about God’s wrath. Tribulation is usually referring to God’s people being persecuted, or suffering for the cause of Christ, which fits in perfectly with the period where the antichrist is making war with the saints, forcing people to take the mark of the beast, and anyone who won’t take it is killed. And obviously no true believer- the Bible tells us- will be deceived, they will not take the mark, and so on and so forth. So Revelation 3:10, let’s go back to it with those things in mind, with what we just went over in mind. Revelation 3:10 says “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon ALL the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. So if you want to apply Revelation 3:10 to the Rapture symbolically (because we know the literal application was about a church thousands of years ago) but if you want to use this symbolically to talk about the rapture... My friend, you must face the fact that the “hour of temptation” fits in much more closely with the “hour of judgement”, or the “hour of the destruction of Babylon”, or the “hour when God begins to pour out His wrath”. Those are all things that have to do with God’s wrath. And so if you want to apply the symbolism of Revelation 3:10 to the rapture, it proves a pre-wrath rapture, it DOES NOT prove a pre-tribulation rapture. Because the tribulation is NEVER characterized as lasting for an hour. It’s never even symbolically referred to as an hour. Is God’s wrath referred to symbolically as an hour? Absolutely, I mean I showed you 4 scriptures in the book of Revelation where God’s wrath is symbolically referred to as an “hour of His Wrath”. And so saying that the hour of temptation is a multi-year tribulation is just to make things up. And it’s funny because people who believe in a pre-trib rapture, they CLAIM to believe in the Bible literally, and they always accuse those who don’t agree with them of “spiritualizing everything”. Well, you know what? I’m willing to take the literal application. It’s THEY who want to basically dramatically alter the meaning symbolically. But let’s keep moving, I’ve got to hurry up here. It says in verse 12 “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out, and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and I will write upon my new name.” And again, let me just point out that the city of God is NOT the current Jerusalem that’s on this earth. It’s the heavenly Jerusalem. And in Galatians 4, we don’t have to turn there, but God makes a very clear distinction between Jerusalem which NOW is, which is in bondage with all her children, and Jerusalem which is ABOVE, which is free. He uses in Galatians 4 the current city of Jerusalem as an allegory representing bondage, representing false religion, representing works salvation, and then he uses the heavenly NEW Jerusalem as a symbol of salvation by grace through faith, the free gift of eternal life, being the children of the promise as opposed to being the children of bondage and servitude. And so I really would STRONGLY... if you are misunderstanding anything I’ve said, or are having trouble with anything I’ve said about the synagogue of Satan, or about the Jews, or about Jerusalem... I highly recommend that you read Galatians 3 and 4, because Galatians 3 and 4 lay it out better than I could even think of laying it out. I mean it’s so clear. If you’re saved, you should be able to read Galatians 3 and 4 and have no trouble understanding it. But let’s go to the final church here that get’s a specific message, church of Laodicea. Look in verse 14. And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, these things saith the Amen, the faithful and the true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” And of course, Jesus is the one talking to all these 7 churches. And look at what he is calling himself, he is calling himself the Amen. You say “what does the word Amen mean?” Well, the word “Amen” is a greek word that we’ve borrowed into English language. And the word Amen simply means “truly”, or ”truth”. It’s actually the same word as the word that we see all throughout the four gospels, “verily”. You know Jesus would often says “verily, verily I say unto you”? That “verily” there, is actually the same word as “amen”. He’s basically saying “amen, amen, I say unto you.” But in English, that doesn’t make any sense, okay? Because when we hear “amen”, we use it on the end of something, not on the beginning of something, okay? So basically, “verily” means “truly”. “Verity” means “truth”. “Amen”, means “truth”. That’s why when you’re in church and you’ll hear a preacher preaching and somebody says “amen!” What are they saying? They’re saying “that’s true, that’s right, what he is saying is the truth.” And it says here that Jesus Christ is “the Amen”. Now doesn’t that make sense when we thing about the fact that Jesus saith unto him “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.” He is the amen. He says he is the “faithful and true witness”. And notice, he is the “beginning of the creation of God”. Now, a lot of people will twist this scripture, and some false Bible versions will change this verse to say that he was the first thing created by God, or he was the first person created by God. No, Jesus Christ is not a created being. The Bible says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” In the beginning, the Word was God. And the Bible says that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” And so you have to understand that Jesus Christ was NOT created by God, He is the first and the last, He is the beginning and the ending, he IS the Alpha and the Omega. He IS the Almighty, we saw that in chapter one. But Jesus Christ is the beginning of the creation of God, so he wasn’t created in the beginning, he IS the beginning. He IS the one who “created all things”. Colossians 1 makes it very clear that Jesus Christ is the creator of all things. Colossians 1 is crystal clear on that. Let’s keep going it says in verse 15 “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth, because thou sayest I am rich and am increased with goods and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” So here is a church that’s neither cold nor hot. I mean what does that mean? That they’re wishy-washy. They’re half in, half out. They’re not completely fired up, they’re not completely dead, they’re just lukewarm, and God’s saying “that makes me sick”. And he is comparing it to a drink. You know, if you had an ice cold beverage, tastes great. Let’s use coffee for an example. I’m not a big coffee drinker, but... Iced coffee is pretty popular. And then hot coffee is pretty popular, right? But you know, lukewarm coffee that’s neither cold nor hot, no coffee drinker wants to drink that. Iced Mocha, okay, you know. Steaming hot cup of coffee, great. But lukewarm? And especially... have you ever started to drink something, you were ready to drink one thing, and it was something different than you expected and you just spewed it out of your mouth? And sometimes what you are drinking is not even that bad, but if you just have your mind all ready for a certain drink and then a different drink comes... argh. You’re ready for it to be hot, you’re ready for it to be cold, then... blechhh... Let me tell you a funny story. I was camping with my dad as a kid and my dad pretended this was an accident, but then the next day he said “actually I did that on purpose”, and we had a good laugh. And we still laugh to this day, I’m not bitter about it. But anyway, sometimes when you go up in elevation, sodas will explode, right? Bags of chips might burst, just from the pressure of changing elevation. So we had this little refrigerator in the back of the camper in the back of the truck. In this little refrigerator there was a 6 pack of cans of “Squirt”. Who knows what squirt is? It’s like grapefruit, it’s like the best soda in the world But anyway, we had a 6 pack of Squirt, and above that 6 pack of Squirt, there was a pack of Hot Dogs that had already been opened. And you know that juice that comes in a pack of Hot Dogs, that liquid in the Hot Dogs, okay? So this juice from the Hot Dogs had spilled onto the top of these cans of Squirt. So basically, you have got a can of Squirt with this puddle of Liquid that’s a similar colour to what Squirt would be. So we get back there, and we open the fridge once we got to our destination. And my dad hands me a can of that Squirt. And he says “quick, drink this down, this is burst, drink this down so it doesn’t spill!” And I said “Okay!” So I grabbed that Squirt and expected it to be Squirt, and just slurped Hot Dog juice into my mouth... You know, I’m expecting this cold, sweet grapefruit soda... and then I just slurp that Hot Dog liquid, you know, that’s in the Hot Dog. Blechchcch! Argh, it was horrible. And my dad just laughed his head off. He was like “oh, sorry, woops!” And the next day he was like “yeah, I knew that was Hot Dog juice, I just thought it would be funny.” I was like, “thanks dad...” (Laughs) But that’s what God is saying here! He’s saying it leaves a bad taste in His mouth, and look, it’s not what He expects. I expected Squirt. He expects us to be red hot. He expects us to be fired up. And when he finds us luke warm. When he finds us NOT excited, NOT caring about the things of God, NOT filled with the spirit... You know, it makes Him sick... He’s just like blechhchch Argh man, are you serious? This is church? This is what you’re preaching is like? Blechchch! Now look what made God so mad. Verse 17, “Because thou sayest”. You see, what makes God the most angry, is when basically people think they’re hot, and they’re not. Because God doesn’t like pride, and especially God doesn’t like somebody who thinks that they are just all that, and a bag of chips, and in reality they’re lukewarm. They’re lame. He says to them, “Thou sayest”- verse 17- “I’m RICH and increased with goods and have need of nothing”. He says “here is what you’re really like...” “And knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable and poor, and blind and naked.” You don’t even know how poor you are! You don’t even know how naked you are! And by the way, there are a lot of women today that dress in such a way that God would consider them naked. The Bible teaches that your thighs are your nakedness, he says in Exodus 28:42 that the priests were supposed to wear britches that would cover their loins and thighs in order to cover their nakedness. Yet we have ladies today who go out with their thighs totally exposed, and they don’t even know that they’re naked. But according to the Bible, that is their nakedness. Isaiah 47 also teaches about a woman uncovering her nakedness and it says “uncover the thigh”, in regard to the nakedness. So there's a couple of scriptures right there that indicate that God considers the loins and the thighs to be the nakedness. Also in the book of Isaiah, he refers to the buttocks as nakedness, okay? And yet we have ladies today who will expose these parts of their body, and basically they think that they’re clothed, just because they’re wearing this tiny piece of fabric covering something... they think that’s clothed. There’s short shorts, there’s swimsuits. They think “oh, I’m not naked, I’m clothed.” No, that’s nakedness, according to the Bible. I mean, what if I were wearing a wrist watch and nothing else? You would consider me naked, right? Everybody draws the line somewhere. “No, I’m not naked, I am wearing a hat.” Obviously there are certain of the body that need to be covered in order to cover your nakedness. The Bible talks about “the loins”, okay, which is obviously the lap area. The loins, the thighs and the buttocks are areas that God says need to be covered in order to have your nakedness covered. And that’s not my opinion, that’s what the Bible teaches. Yeah, I’m sure you have your own ideas right, about what nakedness is? Well guess what? God has got his ideas, and he expects us to listen to Him and not to just make things up, and make up rules about how long or short the skirt should be, and just make up rules about what consists of nakedness, and what does not. So He says here, “you don’t even know how wretched you are. You don’t even know how miserable and poor and blind you are, and naked you are.” He says in verse 18 “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear.” You see, it’s a shameful thing to have your nakedness exposed. And he says “anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.” Let me point out quickly just how poetic the Bible is. The Bible is such a beautiful book. I love the rhyme in the beginning of verse 18. “I counsel THEE to buy of ME, gold tried in the fire.” So there’s a lot of poetry in the Bible, the Bible is an amazing book. But look at verse 19, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent.” So here we see that God refers to rebuking, and chastening as a way that he shows His love for us. Now that’s a little counter-intuitive to our mind today in 2013 to think “well, if I love someone, I’m going to rebuke and chasten them.” Because people today do not like to be rebuked. Now, the Bible says “Rebuke a WISE man, and he will love thee.” But if you rebuke a fool, they don’t want to hear it. And the Bible talks about preaching, it says “preach the word, be instant in season, out of season. Reprove, rebuke”- and rebuke means to tell somebody they’re wrong. “Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine, for the time will come they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” So according to that right there, the Bible is saying that there will come a time when people don’t want to be rebuked! They don’t want preaching to rebuke them! They just want it to make them feel good all the time. Like for example, what I just said about nakedness... A lot of people don’t want to hear that! Because it hits a little bit too close to home, and they don’t want to be rebuked. But the Bible says “As many as I LOVE I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent.” The preacher who loves you is the preacher who obeys the command to rebuke you. “Preach the word. Reprove, rebuke, exhort.” And a preacher who won’t rebuke you, doesn’t love you. A preacher that won’t preach anything negative, that won’t tell you you are wrong about anything and try to correct something.... And again, “speaking the truth in love”, but still, speaking the truth, and rebuking what needs to be rebuked. That shows that he loves you. You see if I never told my children that they were doing wrong, if I never rebuke my children, that would prove that I didn’t love my children. Go if you would to proverbs 13 in your Bible. Proverbs 13. We’re talking about rebuking and chastening. The Bible says “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent.” Look at Proverbs 13, verse 24. It says “He that spareth his rod, HATETH his son, but he that loveth Him, chasteneth him betimes.” Now that right there says that if you spare the rod, you spoil the child? Nope, not what it says. He said “He that spareth his rod, hateth his son.” And I’ve heard people say sometimes, “well, I just love my children too much to spank them, I just love them too much. I just can’t bring myself to do it because I love them too much.” The Bible says you don’t love them enough! The Bible says if you spare your rod, you hate your son, if you love him, you’ll chasten him. “Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth.” You say “spanking, that’s not love! That’s assault!” Look if you would at chapter 23, where God really spells it out. Proverbs 23. And again, I’m not talking about taking your fist and pummeling your child, or, assaulting your child. I’m talking about spanking the padded area of their body that God provided to receive the correction. I’m talking about taking the rod of correction and applying it to the seat of learning, okay? And spanking your child... I’m not talking about injuring your child here. I’m talking about basically inflicting a punishment. And we all got spankings as kids. It’s painful, it stings, it burns. But you know what? It gets the message through. It teaches you to do what is right. And it makes you grow up and be a Godly person. That’s why he said in verse 13 of Proverbs 23, “Withhold not correction from the child. For if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.” Now that is just as much a command as “thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery”...“Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.” So is spanking your children something that’s optional? “God condones it.” No, it’s not something God condones, it’s something that God demands. It’s something that God says “If you don’t do it, you hate your child. You don’t love your children. If you love them you will chasten them betimes.” “Betimes” means “early”. He says “don’t withhold correction from the child. If thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.” Go to Hebrews 12. There are A LOT of scriptures that we could turn to, but I’m just going to the main scriptures on this subject. A lot of scriptures in the Bible on spanking. A lot of scriptures that explain that if you love your children, you are going to discipline them and correct them. For example, while you’re turning to Hebrews 12, it says this “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of His correction, for whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” The Bible says that the father who loves his children, he will correct the son in whom he delights. You say “oh man, I’m a child and I get the most spankings of anyone in my family!” You’re the one in whom they delight. You may not want to be delighted in THAT much, but I’ll tell you what, the more you are disciplined, that just shows that your parents love you. Because they will correct the one in whom they delight. You see, if I didn’t love my kids, I’d just stick them in front of the TV. I’d just give them whatever they want to shut them up, right? You know I heard an expression one time, there was a kid throwing himself down in the grocery store, throwing a fit. And this is what my old pastor back in Sacramento used to say, he’d always say “give him what he wants, or give him what he needs.” Basically, just shut him up. Either give him what he WANTS, to shut him up, or give him what he NEEDS. Well, the parent who doesn’t love their child, they’ll just give them what they want. You know, just, “get out of my hair, get away!” I remember one time when I was a child I was babysat and the babysitter does not care as much about your development, and your long-term growth as a person as much as your parents do, right? So the babysitter is talking on the phone, and busy, and doesn’t want to do anything to interact with you , and you’re saying “can I have a cookie, can I have a cookie?” And the babysitter is just like, “Here! Eat as many cookies as you want, just leave me alone!” And you just go and just feast on cookies... it’s a great day, when you’re a kid. BUT, the parent that loves you is going to correct you, and when you’re in sin, when you’re doing wrong, they’re not just going to put a cookie in your mouth and stick you in front of the TV to get you out of their hair. No, they care about you enough to want to train you and teach you and help you to do right, and to take the time to... And look, spanking your children is a lot of work It takes effort. It’s a lot easier just to yell at them, or just to put them in front of the TV, or just give them a treat or whatever. Spanking them and disciplining them can be a chore. It’s not something that any parent wants to do enjoys doing But they know that if they love their children, they’re going to do it. Look at Hebrews 12, and I’ll go through this quickly. It says “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” “Scourge” means whip. It’s like when you were a kid, and dad would take the belt off and give you a whipping. It says “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” The Bible is saying “look, if you’re not being chastened by God, you’re not even his son, because “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth EVERY son whom he receiveth.” So when you get chastened by God... and I’ve seen people who were in sin have some serious chastening come into their life, and you know what I heard them say before? “Well at least I know I’m saved, because God is not letting me get away with anything!” Well, that’s a good sign man, that’s good to know that God loves you and that he cares for you and that He is trying to correct you, you’re His son! You are his daughter, He loves you, He is trying to correct you. Verse 9, “Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence”- or RESPECT. There you go folks. Children who don’t respect their parents... it’s because they’re not being corrected by their parents, they’re not being spanked by their parents. That’s why they don’t respect them. “we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” And so, important concept. God will chasten and correct us. And you know what? We should let it be a comfort to us. That’s why David said “thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” Because it shows us that God loves us and cares about us, and he wants to help us to do better. Let me just quickly finish up in Revelation 3 here. He said “as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent.” So therefore, being “zealous” is the opposite of being lukewarm. Zeal! Right? Passion about serving God. That’s what He is looking for. When we don’t have that, we’re lukewarm, we need to get zealous. He says “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with me.” This is often a misquoted verse. You see, there is a word in the English language, “into”, I N T O, that is one word, right? Preposition “into”. But that is not the word that is used here. Here, 2 separate words are used, “in” and “to”. Do you see that? Now, it might not seem like a big deal, but there’s a difference there. See, when He says “I stand at the door and knock”, who is he talking to in this verse? The saved, or the unsaved? He is talking to the church at Laodicea. He said “as many as I LOVE, I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent”, right? Now I’ve heard a lot of people say “well, the church at Laodicea, they weren’t saved”. Now here is why they say that. Because those who believe in the pre-trib rapture, they want to make these 7 churches be seven “periods of time”. And for a long time I heard them say “we’re living in the Laodicean church age, we’re in the Laodicean church age, Jesus is coming any moment.” But THEN, they got a hold of Revelation 3:10, the one that we talked about earlier, and started saying “YEAH, that’s the pre-trib rapture! You know, Revelation 3:10”. Well, here’s the problem with that... They were saying the “Philadelphian age” had already happened, and that talked about the rapture? That doesn’t make any sense. So here is what they adjusted it to. A lot of pre-tribbers now, here is how they adjust it. They say “well, we’re in the Philadelphian age, and the rapture is Revelation 3:10”, and here is what they say, “the church at Laodicea was a fake church, was an apostate church, that’s the church that’s left behind, because they weren’t even saved.” And they ABUSE Revelation 3:20, and say “this is talking about coming INTO them, where he says “behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come IN TO him.” “ And they say “See? That’s Jesus Christ coming INTO your heart!” No. Wrong. Because it doesn’t say “into”. You say “come on Pastor Anderson, are you nuts? What’s the difference between “into” and “in to”??” Totally different word! Because if I say, “I’m coming in to the Pulpit”, like I’m going to come into the church, I’m standing at the door of the church building and I’m going to “come in... to the pulpit.” That means I’m going to come in, and I’m going to walk over to the pulpit. But if I said I am going “into” the pulpit, it means I’m going to open up the pulpit and get inside! You understand the difference? “Into” means I’m going inside of it! “In to”... If I say I am going to come to your house, knock on the door, I’m going to come “in to” you and sup with you ... It means I’m going to come in, TO you. I’m going to shake your hand and sup with you and have dinner with you. It’s not talking about Jesus coming inside you, okay? It’s just saying he is going to come into where you are, and have dinner with you, do you see the difference? It’s not talking about the “spirit of God coming into you” or “Jesus Christ coming into your heart”. That’s not what it’s referring to. This is not an unsaved church. You say, “PROVE IT!” Because they will say “well, you know, He said it a little different, the church OF the Laodiceans, instead of saying “church in Laodicea”” Look, I’ll prove to you they’re saved. You know how you can prove that they were saved? Because he was chastening them. I mean the Bible says “whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth!” He said “and He scourgeth every SON whom he receiveth.” And then He says “as many as I LOVE, I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent.” “I stand at the door and knock...” He is talking about having fellowship with God, not Jesus coming into your heart! You’re ALREADY SAVED! But Jesus is outside, he wants to come in and dinner with you, supper with you. He wants to have fellowship with you, and talk with you. And he is saying that he is knocking and he wants to come in. Look, these people are saved. But they want to say “oh, Laodicea is a false church, not saved, because we’re living in the Philadelphian age, and then you know the rapture takes place...” Look, these are the kind of bizarre things that those who believe in a pre-trib rapture will come up with to try and prop up their doctrine. It doesn’t make any sense, okay? They can’t have it both ways. Are we in the “Laodicean age” or are we in the “Philadelphian age”? I don’t believe that any of these “ages” even exist! I think it’s a false man-made doctrine. I think that any church at any given time could become like the church at Laodicea. A church that is going through tribulation and persecution might be similar to the church at Smyrna. A church that has fornication in it is similar to the church at Thyatira. And so don’t misunderstand “into” and “in to”, two different words. He says in verse 21 “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Let’s bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father we thank you so much for this great chapter in your word. Thank you for the meanings that were right there on the surface, just the clear teaching about how we shouldn’t try to ride on our past glory days, “oh man, you should have seen what I was doing for God 20 years ago!” Help us not to have a name that we live and be dead. Help us to be serving you NOW. That was the message to the church at Sardis. And the message to the church at Philadelphia. Help us to realize that God has set before us an open door. Help us to take full advantage of the opportunities that you have given us, and as Paul said, when there is an open door, there are also many adversaries, many enemies. That’s where the synagogue of Satan come up. And help us not to be like the Laodiceans were, where we are lukewarm. Help us to be ZEALOUS! Help us to be fired up. And we love you, and in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Now Revelation chapter 5 beginning in verse number 1, the Bible reads "And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals." Now, chapter five picks up exactly where we left off in chapter 4, if you remember, John had been caught up into heaven, and he was shown the throne and the sea of glass. He was shown the beasts and the elders, and all these different things. Well in chapter 5 verse 1, now we're told that there is a book in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, and that the book is sealed with seven seals. Now before I get into the material in chapter 5, I want to just quickly go to chapter 6, and show you a little bit about what these seals are, and what this book is, that is sealed with seven seals. Now the way this book works, is that as a seal is broken, a little bit more of the story becomes visible. Now if you could think of it as a scroll. You know if you were to roll up a scroll like this, okay? And, let's say you were to put a seal right here to where you could roll it, to this point and no further, okay? And then roll it up a little further, put another seal. Roll it up a little further, put another seal. Roll it up a little further, put another seal. And when it was all totally rolled up, you would put one last seal on the whole thing. So, when you broke this seal, that would be like opening seal number one, and then when you looked at it, you would be able to read only to the point where the next seal is holding it shut. Now the Bible says here "a book". I'm not sure if this is actually a book as we would think of a book, or if it's a scroll. Let's say it's a book like we would think of, then maybe different portions of it are sealed in different ways, and as those seals are broken, more of the story becomes exposed. So when the first seal is open, we get the first part of the story that's contained in the book. When the second seal is open, we get the second part of the story, and so on and so forth. And the story unfolds as these different seals are broken. Now I am going to preach on these in great detail in chapter 6, but just to give you a quick overview, look at chapter 6 verse 1, the Bible reads "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." So when the first seal is opened, we see this man riding on a white horse with a crown and a bow in his hand, he's going out to conquer. And just for sake of time, I'll just quickly tell you the other seals. When the second seal is opened, the world is filled with warfare. Another horsemen goes out and takes peace from the earth, and causes the people on the earth to kill one another. When the third seal is opened, we see great famine on the land. And then when the fourth seal is opened, we see death, pestilence over the fourth part of the earth. When the fifth seal if opened we see martyrs being killed for the cause of Christ. And then of course when the sixth seal is opened, the sun and moon are darkened, and the great day of the Lord's wrath is come. And then when the seventh seal is opened, we're introduced to the seven trumpets. Now, the difference between the seventh seals and the other groups of seven that are coming later in the book of Revelation- because remember we have the "seven trumpets" and the "seven vials"? The difference with the seven seals is that God is NOT pouring out His wrath with these seals being opened. For example, when the trumpets are being sounded, an angel sounds a trumpet, and then God pours out some judgement, or pours out some wrath upon this earth. Or when we get to the seven vials, as the angels pour out their vials upon the earth, you know, God pours His wrath in some way. Let me prove to you that the events of the seals are not God's wrath. Look if you would at the fifth seal for example. Look at chapter 6 verse 9. "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held". Now, obviously God's wrath is not upon His own people, right? And when we look at the events of the fifth seal, it is that people are being killed for the cause of Christ. But look further, it says they "were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." So here we see that when these martyrs arrive in heaven, these people who have been killed for the cause of Christ with the opening of the fifth seal, they are asking "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou NOT judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" That shows that up to this point with the first four seals being opened, God is not avenging the blood of the prophets. God is not judging those that dwell on the earth. Now, He is going to, because when they ask, "how much longer until you judge the earth? How much longer until you avenge our blood?" Notice that God doesn't say "what do you mean? I've already been doing it! Didn't you see the famines? Didn't you see the death?" Because a lot of people will look at the fourth seal- where it talks about killing in the fourth part of the earth with sword, hunger, death and the beasts of the earth- and they say "see, that's God already pouring out His wrath! See, in the fourth seal God's already begun to pour out His wrath?" No, that's not true at all, because even with the fifth seal, the slain martyrs are pleading with God saying "how much longer do we have to wait BEFORE you will avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Okay, that shows that He is not already doing it, okay? That shows that the first five seals have nothing to do with God's wrath. And the answer they are given is not "well that's what I've already been doing", the answer that they're given is to "rest yet for a little season", until [your] fellowservants also and [your] brethren, that should be killed as [you] were, should be fulfilled." He is saying, "wait just for a little season." And then what happens next? The sixth seal is opened, sun and moon are darkened, and then that's when they say the great day of His wrath is come. So, see? It was a very short season that they had to wait. Because in the fifth seal, they're told "just wait a little longer", then at the sixth seal, "here it is, the great day of His wrath is come". So God does not begin to pour out His wrath UNTIL the events of the sixth seal. So what is this book then? This book is basically just telling the story of events, and things which must shortly come to pass on the earth. It's not God doing the killing. It's just God who has the book written, giving the story of the things which must come to pass. And that's what we see there. So let's go back to chapter 5, with that in mind, understanding what this seven sealed book is. It's a book that contains a story and as each seal is broken, we get more of the story of the events which must come to pass leading up to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So in chapter 5 verse 1, the Bible reads "And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon." Now the thing I want to point out about verse 3, is that according to chapter 3, there are men located in those 3 places. There are men that are located in heaven. There are men that are located on the earth, and there are men that are located under the earth. Now, we know that there are men in heaven. There are a lot of people that teach a false doctrine, that when believers die, they do NOT go to heaven. They teach maybe "soul sleep" for example. But here God makes it clear that men are in heaven. Of course the apostle Paul said "I have reminded you of it often, he said "for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." He said "I have a desire to be with Christ, which is far better". He said " to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord". So we know there are men in heaven. Every man who has ever died and was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, is already in heaven right now, before the rapture, before the resurrection. I mean, TODAY, if I died, my soul would go to heaven, my body would be on this earth, but my soul would go to heaven. Okay, but then He says there are men on the earth. Well that's pretty easy to understand. But then he also says that there are men UNDER the earth. Well, who are the men under the earth. Clearly it is those UNSAVED who have died and gone to hell. They are under the earth, they are in the depths of the earth. And so we see that no man was found worthy. And he said whether they be in heaven, on the earth, under the earth... NO MAN was found worthy to open the book, neither to look thereon, verse 4. "And I wept much"- he is saying he cried, and tears streamed down his face, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. He knows this is an important book. It's a book that's held in the hand of God, he wants to know what's inside, he wants to know the contents, he weeps that no man is able to open and to read the book, neither look thereon. Boy, we're privileged that we just open it up and read it. But he wanted to see what was inside. It says in verse 5, "one of the elders", this is one of the 24 elders, "saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." So obviously we know that the lamb of God is Jesus Christ. John the baptist, when he looked upon Jesus Christ on this earth said "behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world". And obviously the lamb was slain, because Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried and then three days later rose again. Now go back if you would to Genesis 49 in your Bible. Genesis 49. It's interesting because here Jesus Christ is called "the LION of the tribe of Judah". And what's interesting about that is, is that that term is only found in two places in the Bible. "The lion of the tribe of Judah" is found in Revelation 5, and it's found in Genesis 49. And whenever we see something that's only mentioned in two places, it always makes sense to look at both places, and to compare scripture with scripture and understand it. So go back to Genesis 49, where the concept of the lion of the tribe of Judah comes from. Now first of all, at the beginning of Genesis 49, the Bible says in verse 1 "And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days." Now jump down to verse 8, where we get to the blessing upon Judah, because he blesses each of the twelve tribes. Look at verse 8. "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee." So what we see prophesied here about Judah is actually referring to Jesus Christ who is the Son of Judah, who is of the tribe of Judah. And it says of him, that his hand will be in the necks of his enemies, and that his father's children shall bow down before him. Now this is an appropriate time in Revelation 5 for this scripture to be brought up, because Jesus Christ is about to defeat all of his enemies, and he is about to rule and reign on this earth, for a thousand years after having destroyed and demolished all the wicked kings and kingdoms of this earth, and taken the kingdom for himself. And the seven sealed book, has the events that lead up to that. And so he says that his hand will be in the necks of his enemies, and it says " thy father's children shall bow down before thee." We're about to see Jesus Christ receive a lot of worship a little bit later in the chapter, where a lot of people are bowing down before him. And of course eventually EVERY knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Look at verse 9. "Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion"- "couched" would be our modern word "crouched (down)". He says "he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." So we're seeing some symbolism here of the Lord Jesus Christ ruling and reigning, a scepter is what a king has when he is reigning, he is the lawgiver. And then it says "unto him shall the GATHERING of the people be." Of course, that's a very significant event, with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, when Jesus Christ returns as the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Bible says "I beseech ye therefore by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our GATHERING together unto him", "unto him shall the GATHERING of the people be". Then it says this in verse number 11. "Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:" Of course this is referring to in Revelation 19 when Jesus Christ returns on a white horse, and the Bible says he was "clothed in a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God." Verse 12. " His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk." Remember that when John looked at Jesus Christ, his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his face and his head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow. So go back if you would to Revelation chapter 5. So it's pretty interesting when you look back at the only place that Jesus is referred to as "the lion of the tribe of Judah". In both places, they have a lot of parallels there, it's pretty interesting to look at that. So, back in Revelation chapter 5, the Bible said in verse 5, "one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah"- a reference back to Genesis 49- "the Root of David"- you say, "what does that mean, the Root of David?" Well, in Revelation 22, Jesus said "I am the root, and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star." Now, think about this. What is a root? Is that the product of the plant, or is that where the plant comes from? Or the source? If you think about it, the root is what's making the plant grow. It's what's taking in all the nutrients. And really the root comes first, before we see a giant plant, we see a root. If I said "what is the root of our problems here?" What am I asking? "What's the source?" Right? If I say "what is the root cause?" I'm saying "what is the source?" So basically Jesus is saying I am the ROOT, and the OFFSPRING of David. Because Jesus Christ is the creator of the whole world. And this ties in with the part where Jesus Christ asked the scribes, he asked "what think ye of Christ? Whose Son is he?" Do you remember that? And they say "he's the son of David", and he says "okay, well then why does David call him Lord, if he be his son?" And remember they couldn't answer him. They couldn't understand how David would call Christ "Lord", why would he call his son Lord? The answer is that Jesus Christ is the root and the offspring of David, because Jesus is the creator, he is above David, he created David, he came before David. Jesus Christ existed in eternity past. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, the Word was God, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And so Jesus Christ is the root of David, but he is also humanly speaking physically the offspring of David. So here it says he is "the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof" and on and on. So we see here that as soon as Jesus, as soon as the lamb takes the book out of the hand of Him that sitteth upon the throne, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders, they fall down before him and begin to worship him and praise him, and talk about his worthiness. Now, this is another proof that the Lord Jesus Christ is God, that we believe in the deity of Christ. And, the Bible is real clear that we should only worship God. I mean the Bible says "thou shalt worship the Lord they God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Flip over to Matthew 28 quickly. Matthew chapter 28. But while you are turning to Matthew 28, I am going to read for you from Philippians chapter 2 where the Bible reads in verse 9, "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." And the Bible tells us there is ONE LORD, one faith, one baptism, over and over in the Old Testament, God is called "the LORD". And when his name "Jehovah" is used in the Old Testament, that's translated into the New Testament, as "the Lord". You know, if you go to the Greek New Testament, there is no word "Jehovah", okay? It just says "the Lord". "Kurios" is the word, but it's always "the Lord, the Lord". So, Jesus Christ IS THE LORD. Jesus Christ is worthy to be praised, and worshiped. And whenever you find people worshiping Jesus Christ in the four gospels, you'll never find them rebuked for doing so. Whenever people worship the apostles, they are always rebuked and told not to do it. But when Jesus Christ is worshiped, he always receives that worship. And remember, the Bible says "thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and HIM ONLY shalt thou serve." Yet Jesus Christ receives worship. Look at chapter 28 of Matthew for a great example. The Bible says in verse number 9 "And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me." Jump down to verse 17. It says that "And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." So He says, they worshipped him, but some doubted. You see, he wanted to be worshipped, he always received worship. And the Bible says that someday, EVERY knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God that Father. So, we see the four beasts and the 24 elders are worshipping Jesus Christ as soon as he takes the book out of the Lord's hand. God the Father that is. Look at verse 8. "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints." Go to Psalm 56. Psalm 56. It's interesting that these golden vials are full of odours which are the prayers of saints. Of course later on in Revelation chapter 8, the incense is going to be burnt before God, and He is going to offer the incense as an offering unto God, the angel. And he is also going to offer up the prayers of the saints. But look if you would at Psalm 56 verse 8. The Bible reads, "Thou tellest my wanderings". Now, "tellest" in the Bible, often means "to count". For example, when you go to the bank, what's the person that helps you at the bank called? The bank... Teller, right? Because they're counting out the money to you,and so the Bible says "Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my"- basically it means "you are keeping track of my wanderings" He is not losing track, the very hairs of our head are numbered... "Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" So this talks about the fact that God is storing up the tears of His people in a bottle. And they are also kept in a book of remembrance. Now, not only that, but it's associated with prayer, because look at verse 9. "When I cry unto thee"- that's prayer, you know, calling out to God, calling out unto the LORD. "When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me." He is saying "I am praying and crying out to God that He will help me defeat my enemies, that He will help me in the face of my enemies." And he is saying "God hears me, and he sees my tears, and he puts them in a bottle, and he records them in a book". Verse 10. "In God will I praise his word: in the Lord will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me." Back to Revelation 5. Why is he not afraid? Because he knows that his prayers are being heard by God, and that his tears are being captured and stored by God, and stored in a book. So this should show us how important it is to God that we pray unto him. You know, we might take it lightly, and maybe we will skip a lot of prayer time, and maybe we just don't really see the point in praying and we just think, "well, God is just going to do whatever He is going to do anyway, let's just read the Bible and live for God and do what we are supposed to do." But you know, prayer is important because first of all, the Bible says "you have not, because you ask not." And so there are a lot of things that we could have in our life, a lot of blessings that we could have, if we would just pray and ask God. But not only that, but our prayers are an offering unto God that is a sweet savour in His nostrils according to Revelation chapter 8. And here in Revelation chapter 5, it talks about the fact that the four and twenty elders and the four beasts have golden vials full of odours which are the prayers of saints. God finds our prayers so important that He keeps them. He stores them. You know, we have a drawer at our house, it's a big giant drawer. And it contains all kinds of drawings, and notes and poems that our children have drawn and written. And you know kids do a lot of drawing, they write a lot of notes, and sometimes I look at that drawer and I'm thinking to myself "Goodnight! Do we really need to keep ALL of this?" And I mean my wife doesn't want to get rid of any of it. And we are just constantly just- more drawings- and we are just jamming them into this drawer. Why? Because when you love your children, and they write you a note, or they write you a letter, you want to keep that, it means something to you, it's really important to you, right? Now there's a lot of mail that comes that gets torn up and thrown in the trash, doesn't it? I might get emails or letters or cards that aren't really that important to me, I might read them, look at them and throw them away. But if I got a really special card, or a card from someone special... Let's say I exchanged a very poignant or intimate letter with my wife. That's something that I would want to keep, that's something that would mean a lot to me. Or if my children wrote me a letter, if my children wrote me a note, I love them, I want to keep that. And I'm going to cherish it. That's how God is with His children, that shows that He loves us. You say "ahh, there's so many of us!" But God is so much greater than we are that he has more capacity for love. We might think "well how can he love millions of us and care about each one of us, and listen to all of our prayers and actually take it seriously?". But God has so much intelligence and so much power, and so much of a mind, that He can actually think about us all the time, have the hairs of our head numbered, love us each individually as his children. You know sometimes people look at a large family, for example, because we have seven children, and counting... But we have seven children. You know people might look at a large family and say "how can you love each of your children when you have so many of them? You should only have one child, or two children so that you can give them maximum love." But that's not true at all! Because the more children you have, the more you love each of them. And it's the same way with God. God's love is not diminished for His children because He has more of them, "because He has so many children, He loves them less", that's ridiculous. And God cares about us, He wants to hear from us. And we might think "oh, why am I even praying, what's the point? But God is listening to every word you say. Not only is He listening, He is recording it! He's keeping it, He is storing it, it means something to Him! Even if you are just asking for something, you know what? He still stores that, and it means something to Him, and He appreciates the fact that you are going to Him, and that you are showing your faith in Him, by speaking to Him, even though He cannot be seen or heard. It shows that you believe that He is there, and that you believe that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. So it's really interesting how God stores up our tears, He stores up our prayers... He keeps them in a book, like a scrapbook. Like I would maybe keep memorabilia from my wife, or from my children, or from other people that I love. But look at verse 9. We're going to see the new song that they sing. Once Jesus takes the book, they sung a new song, because remember they've been praising God in other ways in chapter 4. Remember over and over again the four beasts are saying "holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come"? And then every time they give honour and glory and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, then the four and twenty elders fall down, throw their crowns before His feet and praise Him? Well now, that scene that keeps playing out over and over again, has now changed, now they are singing a new song. And here is the new song that they sing. It says in verse 9. "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." So it's a song about how worthy Jesus Christ is, and how HE is the one who is able to open the book, and how HE has redeemed us to God by HIS blood, out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and has made us unto our God kings and priests. Now, this is an OFTEN misunderstood passage here. A lot of confusion has come from these verses, verses 9 and 10. But it isn't God's fault. It's a misunderstanding on the part of the reader. Whenever we read something in the Bible and we're confused, WE have the misunderstanding. And here's what confuses people. Who is singing the song according to Revelation 5? The four beasts and the four and twenty elders, okay? Well, how can these twenty eight individuals sing that they were redeemed to God by His blood out of every kindred, and tongue and people and nation? And let me ask you this, are there more than 28 tongues? Absolutely. There are hundreds and hundreds. Really THOUSANDS of languages, I mean, if you count every obscure language. But we know of hundreds of major languages. You know even "Rosetta Stone" is going to carry more than 28 languages for you to learn, right? And He says here, that they are redeemed out of every tongue, every kindred, every nation. How many nations are there? Even just right now on the earth? Just present day there are over a hundred and fifty nations. And so, people have been confused by this and not quite understood it. Now, here is the part that REALLY should show you what I am trying to illustrate... And I'm going to show in a minute, but... The four beasts! Were the four beasts redeemed by the blood of the lamb? I mean, stop and think about that. Were the four beasts redeemed by the blood of the lamb, and will the four beasts reign on the earth? Absolutely not, because the four beasts are NOT human, okay? Therefore they were NOT saved by the blood of Christ. So that's why people get confused by this. Now, what some people will say, is they will say "well, this proves that the 24 elders really represent every believer, everybody who has ever lived." No, that does not prove that. Maybe if the four beasts weren't singing, you could maybe try to make a case for that, but still, I'm not buying that at all. Because why would 24 elders, which are all men, which are all prophets, they're all Pastors or Bishops, which I talked about last week, but, why would they represent every believer, when believers are made up of man, woman, boy, girl, preacher, the laymen in the pew that's never going to get up and preach. Why would that... That doesn't make any sense! And dead sure the four beasts. Somebody said, "the four beasts... that's believers!" No, the four beasts are the seraphims, they're not human! And we talked about that last week. But the answer is really simple, and a lot of times when you look at something and you are confused... And people have really strained themselves on these two verses. And did you know that the modern Bible versions, you know the versions other than the King James? They just change this. You know, because whenever they don't understand something, they just change it. And that's why you should stay away from these modern Bible versions, because they make so many changes, just because the people who are working on them have so little understanding, that whenever they come across something that THEY think is a contradiction, they're like "oh man, we've gotta fix this, we've gotta fix this contradiction." No, why don't we just trust that God's word is perfect, and just leave it how it is? It's REALLY simple to explain why the four beasts and the four and twenty elders are singing this song about being redeemed to God by his blood out of every kindred tongue, people and nation, why the seraphims are talking about being redeemed by the blood whatsoever. Go back to Psalms. Because remember, they're singing a song, okay? They are singing a song. Well, the book of Psalms is what? A songbook, isn't it? It's a book of songs. Go to chapter 126. 126. And while you're turning to Psalm 126, I'm in Psalm 22, and I'm going to show you that a lot of the Psalms are written from the perspectives of individual people, but yet we as God's people are commanded to sing the Psalms, aren't we? The Bible says that we should be speaking to ourselves in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And we know that the children of Israel in the Old Testament, they sang the Psalms, didn't they? And we in the New Testament are commanded to sing the Psalms. Look at Psalm 22 there, where the Bible reads in verse 1. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Now is this a song that is appropriate for us to sing as God's people? Well here's the thing. We're commanded to sing the Psalms. I believe we should be singing every Psalm. I think every Psalm would be appropriate. If I were to say, in Faithful Word Baptist Church, "turn to Psalm 22", and let's say we had a musical tune put to this... And I said "we're going to sing Psalm 22 right now." And we all sang it as a congregation, obviously that would be appropriate, because God has commanded us to sing the Psalms. But wait a minute. Has God really forsaken us though? No, because Jesus Christ promised us, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee". Who is this Psalm about? This Psalm is about Jesus, isn't it? Jesus is the one saying "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?", because this is quoted in the New Testament. And then again, there's more. If you go down, it says in verse 5, "They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him." That's what they said about Jesus when he was on the cross, remember? It says in verse number 13, "They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." Look at the end of verse 16. "they pierced my hands and my feet." See how clearly this is about the crucifixion of Christ? Now look, God has commanded us to sing this song. And look, he put this chapter in the Bible, Psalm 22, to be a song sung by His people. That is the purpose of Psalm 22. It was a song that was to be sung by the people of God. Now when they're singing that though, are they really singing that about themselves? No, they're singing about the Lord Jesus Christ, and his situation. Go to Psalm 126, I'll show you another example. Psalm 126 says "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them." Now let me ask you this. Were we ever in captivity as the children of Israel, and then we came out of captivity, and then all the heathen were... did that happen to us, personally in this church? Were we all excited when God turned... We weren't even BORN when God turned the captivity of Zion! We weren't laughing and singing and happy and having all the heathen look at us. We weren't even there! But yet this song was written for US to SING! And for the children of Israel in the Old Testament that came hundreds of years later to sing. So what I am saying is, when you are singing songs, a lot of times the songs that you sing are not necessarily from the perspective of the singer. I mean that's very obvious. If we were to pull out the hymnal right now, we'd find a ton of songs, okay... How about "Hold the Fort"? [Singing] "Hold the fort, for I am coming, Jesus signals still", so we are not the ones saying "Hold the fort". Basically the song is relating our life to a battle where Jesus is telling us to hold the fort and we're saying "yes, we're going to hold the fort". Okay, I'm just saying that a lot of the songs in the hymnal- and forget the hymnal- the PSALMS in the psalm book here, the we are TOLD to sing, do not necessarily apply to us personally, but we are to sing them because they are true biblical truths about Jesus, about the children of Israel in the Old Testament, or about whoever. With that in mind, and you know, I just showed you two examples. We could go through the whole book of Psalms, and we could find HUNDREDS of examples of statements that are made that do not apply to us, although we are commanded to sing those songs. So basically, what you need to understand back in Revelation chapter 5, is that just because the four and twenty elders and the four beasts are singing a song, does not mean that they are singing it about themselves. It's a song that is being taught unto us as the reader of Revelation. You see what we should do in 2013 is take these words, this song, and we could put this to music, and we could sing it. Let's look at the song again, verse 9. "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." Let me ask you something. Have we been made kings and priests? Have we been redeemed to God by His blood? Yes. Out of every nation and kindred? Well obviously I'm only of one nation, one kindred, one tongue... But really, that applies to me. And if all of us on the earth... Look, this song was intended to be sung by more than 28 people is what I am trying to tell you. This song was intended to be an eternal song, just like the songs in the book of Psalms, that could be sung now, I mean we could sing this now. Have you got a good tune for it? Let's do it, let's sing it right now! I haven't thought of a tune for it yet, but we could sing it right now. We will be singing this in heaven! We will probably be singing this hundreds of years from now. We'll probably be singing this during the millenium! It's a great song. So don't get hung up on "the fact that because the four beasts are singing the song, it must apply to them." And "the 24 elders are singing the song, it must apply to them". No. It's a song that's been taught unto us, by the four beasts, and by the four and twenty elders. And just a brief look at the book of Psalms makes that obvious, that the singer is not always singing from his own perspective, he is often singing from the perspective of someone else, and so I hope that helps you understand that. And I want to point out one more thing about verse number 10. It says " And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." Go to 1st Peter chapter 2. I want to talk about the fact that God has made us kings and priests. Now this is a very important song. You know what? We honestly need to start singing this song, because the doctrine in this song is very important. And I'm going to expound to you some doctrine from this song that will help us to understand end-times Bible prophecy. That's why it's in the Book of Revelation for us, right, to help us to show unto His servants those things which must shortly come to pass. You see one of the biggest misunderstandings about Bible prophecy, is when people think that the physical nation of Israel is the Holy Nation. Isn't that the biggest misunderstanding? I mean whenever people misunderstand Matthew 24, whenever they misunderstand Mark 13, Luke 21, the book of Revelation, the book of Daniel... It's always because they look at the physical country over in the middle east called "the nation of Israel" that was founded in 1948 by the United Nations, the satanic world government... They look at that nation and they say "that's the Holy Nation!" And then they look at the "Jews", quote unquote, the unbelieving Jews over there, and they say "that's God's chosen people". And that is the BIGGEST thing that causes people to misunderstand Bible prophecy. And this song will fix it. Because this song talks about people that are of ALL kindreds, and all nations, and He says that God has made them kings and priests. Well, let's tie that in with 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 5. It says "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." Watch this. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood" Watch this- "an holy nation". He is saying "YOU are a holy nation", YOU are "a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light". So let me ask you this. Isn't it true that the royal priesthood and the holy nation are the same group of people? Yeah, because he says "you're a royal priesthood, you're a chosen- or elect- generation" He says "you're a holy nation a peculiar people". And who are these people? They're people who've been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. So let me ask you this. Is this holy nation being referred to right here, the nation of Israel which is 99% unbelieving? They're still in darkness, wouldn't you agree that the "Jews" over in Israel that are not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ are in darkness, even until now? Of course they are. So that's not them, because these are people that have been called out of the darkness into His marvelous light. And you say "well, I still think it's the Jews, I think it's just the believing Jews, it's just the remnant of believing Jews". Okay, well look at the next verse. "Which in time past were not a people". Well you know what? The Jews have been a people for a very long time. And if you read Hosea, it's clear that we are not talking about the Jews. If you read Romans chapter 11 He talks about the fact that even though the Gentiles in TIME PAST were not the people of God, now they are the people of God. So whoever this group is, they are a group that was not a people in times past, but are now the people of God, "which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." So basically if we study the context of 1st Peter chapter 2, and who the book of 1st Peter is being written to, what 1st Peter chapter 2 is about- verse 2 for example talks about how it's written unto new born babes, that they would desire the sincere milk of the word, that they may grow thereby, and so on and so forth. You will see that basically He is just talking to believers here. Those who have come out of the darkness into the marvelous light. They weren't a people in time past, whereas the nation of Israel or the "Jewish people", forget "the nation of Israel", "the Jewish people" were a people in time past for a very long time. He said "you've become a people, through the blood of Christ, and you've been called out of the darkness into His marvelous light. Now here is why this is so important... Because you say "okay Pastor Anderson, I get that. We as those that are saved are God's people." And I think most people would agree that if you are saved, you are God's people, you are the people of God, you're a priest. Baptists even claim that one of their key doctrines of being a Baptist if the "priesthood of the believer". You know, and I believe that. We as believers are a royal priesthood, we are a chosen generation, we are... But then it's like they forget about the "holy nation" part. But then you say "well, oh, okay Pastor Anderson, yes believers are a holy nation, yes believers of all nations and kindreds are a holy nation. But, the children of Israel, they're ALSO a holy nation. Even the unbelievers, they're STILL God's people, they're still God's chosen people." Okay, let's prove that false. Go to Exodus 19. Exodus chapter 19. Because people who have this idea stuck in their head, they're NEVER going to understand Bible prophecy, they're NEVER going to understand the New Testament properly, they're never going to understand the book of Revelation. Because this doctrine is so false, it will mess up the rest of their doctrine. This little leaven of believing that the "Jews" the unbelieving "Jews", or the physical nation of Israel, founded in 1948, believing that that nation is a holy nation, or that they are God's chosen people, or that God is blessing them, and that "you know, if the United States doesn't support them, God is going to curse us, and if the United States supports them, we're going to be blessed!" If you have that mentality and that doctrine, that is 100% contrary to the teaching of the New Testament, you know you are always going to have to go to the Old Testament to pull out a scripture and take it out of context, the conditional promises that were made to Israel, but if that's your doctrine, you are going to be confused on Bible prophecy until you get that figured out. Because it's just a LIE, and it will taint everything else that you look at. Let me prove that false. You see, 1st Peter 2 is quoting from the Old Testament. Look at Exodus 19:5. "Now therefore, IF"! Underline that word in your Bible. IF!!! That is a BIG IF. "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests"- does this sound like 1st Peter 2?- "an holy nation." He said "These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel." That tells me, that if the children of Israel DO NOT OBEY VOICE, they will NOT be a kingdom of priests, they will NOT be a holy nation, and they will NOT be a peculiar treasure unto Him. They just won't. And He says that if the children of Israel will NOT keep His covenant, they will NOT be a kingdom of priests, and they will NOT be a holy nation. Look at Deuteronomy 7:6. I mean do you see that "IF" there? It's like people just read over that "if", and just say "hey, I don't care what they do! I don't care if they don't believe in Jesus Christ, and they follow the antichrist religion of Judaism, and they call a man Rabbi when Jesus told them not to call anybody Rabbi in Matthew 23! And I don't care if they reject the Lord Jesus Christ!" And the Bible says if you don't have the Son, you don't have the Father! And they say "I still, in spite of all that, I STILL think that they are God's chosen people. I STILL think that that's a holy nation. I STILL think they are under the blessing of God." You are just ignoring the "if" there. Because he said "IF" you keep my covenant and IF you obey my voice. Question. If somebody doesn't even believe on Jesus Christ, are they obeying His voice and keeping His covenant? Absolutely not. And look, the Bible says in Hebrews, he said "they", referring to the Old Testament nation of Israel, "continued not in my covenant and I regarded them not, saith the Lord." So if God said "they did not continue in my covenant, they did not fulfill the "IF", therefore I regarded them not." Why do we regard them? If God does not regard them as a holy nation, if God does not regard them as His chosen people, why do we as Christians in 2013, still regard them as God's chosen people? We need to rightly divide the word of truth, and to realize, we're in the New Testament, not the Old Testament. And the Old Testament, the old covenant was BROKEN by the children of Israel, and He regarded them not. And He said "the kingdom of God shall be taken FROM YOU and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." You say "which nation is it? Is it the US? Is it Great Britain?" No, it's a nation that's made up of all kindreds and tongues and people, which in time past were not a people, but have now become the people of God through the blood of Christ, of all nationalities and kindreds. Look at Deuteronomy 7:6, it says "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth." So at the time that Deuteronomy 7:6 was written, were the children of Israel a holy people unto the Lord? Yes. Were they a special people? Yes. Were they chosen above all the people on the earth? Yes. Go to Deuteronomy 14, verse 2. Deuteronomy 14:2, same thing. "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people"- sound familiar to 1st Peter 2? "unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." But wait a minute. "IF ye will obey my voice", He said in Exodus 19. You've always got to go to the first time something is mentioned. See in Deuteronomy He is just reiterating what He said in Exodus 19. In Exodus 19:5, He said "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel." So then in Deuteronomy, they're doing what they're supposed to do at that time! So He says "you're a holy nation, you're a peculiar people, you're the chosen." Okay, but what about now? But you see, people will quote these verses from Deuteronomy all day long. They'll go to Deuteronomy 7:6, they'll go to Deuteronomy 14:2, to try to prove the point, but they don't want to touch Exodus 19:5 and 6 with a ten foot pole, because it shows that the children of Israel have broken his covenant in pretty much every possible way, by rejecting His own Son. By crucifying him. The Bible says that the Jews both killed the Lord Jesus, and the prophets, and have persecuted us. So I just wanted to lay that down. Go back to Revelation 5, we'll finish up here quickly. And we see very clearly that this song is driving in the point that the kingdom and the priesthood is not upon the physical nation of Israel, the physical seed of Abraham, not at all. Study 1st Peter 2. Cross reference it with Exodus 19:5 and 6. And then when you go back to this song, it makes it very clear that when we talk about God's kingdom and the people and the priesthood, the kingdom and the priesthood is of every kindred, at the end of verse 9 there "and tongue, and people, and nation". Isn't that a powerful truth? And that honestly... I don't even know where this lie came from, because it's just not biblical. You'll not find anything in the New Testament that's going to lead you to believe that the children of Israel are still the holy nation, and the peculiar people. No, that's us as believers! You know, I grew up always feeling like a second class citizen. Like, "man, I wish I were a Jew." Seriously! I thought that when I was a kid. I was like "man, it stinks that I'm a gentile, because I just... I want to be number one, man! I want to be His main people! I want to be the special people. I don't want to be just like, you know, the red-headed step-child of God's family." And so when I learnt this truth, it was exciting. Just to feel like "man, I don't have to come behind in anything! I can be everything God wants me to be, and I can be, basically just right there with the key nation, right there with the chosen people." But let's finish up here quickly. It says in verse 11 of chapter 5. "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands". Now, ten thousand times ten thousand is a hundred million. And thousands of thousands is millions. So what we are talking about here is an excess of a hundred and two million. You will find the exact same thing back in Daniel chapter 7. You don't have to turn there but in Daniel chapter 7 it talks about God's throne being surrounded by thousands of thousands of angels, and thousands of thousands. So we've got a hundred and two million angels. And what's interesting about that is that if you think about the part of the scripture where the Lord teaches that a third part of the angels followed Satan, they followed Lucifer in rebellion. Well, if God's throne is surrounded by a hundred and two million plus angels that are praising Him and serving Him... And if a third of the angels had gone and followed Satan... That tells me that we are talking about at least 51 million angels that have followed Satan. Isn't that something to think about? So if you think about it, there are a lot of devils in the Bible, remember people are possessed with devils a lot in the four gospels? We see a lot of demonic things and devilish things in our world today. Just so you know, there aren't just a handful of devils. I mean if the third part of the angels followed Satan, that tells me that if these are the good angels that are here... And look, I'm not saying there are 102 million. I'm saying there are a MINIMUM of 102 million. That would mean that there are a MINIMUM of 51 million fallen angels or devils that could go out throughout the world telling lies, leading people into sin, leading people to be self destructive. You see people today cutting themselves just like people that were possessed with devils in the four gospels cut themselves. In my high school, there were girls that would cut themselves. And I believe that that is a sign of being possessed with devils. And you say "well goodnight, that many people all cutting themselves, and all possessed with devils?" Look, there's enough devils to go around. I think there's even enough devils to stop by every Mormon missionary and give people a lying, burning in their bosom or whatever it is that many of them experience. The devil has a lot of activity in this world, because he has LITERALLY MILLIONS and millions of workers. He has MILLIONS of workers. And look. 51 million is a minimum, okay? It could be much more than that, but that's a minimum, that's a pretty big number for the devil to have his angels and his workers to carry forth his will in this world. So look what it says. "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands". And you say, wait a minute, maybe that includes the fallen angels also? Okay, well there's still 34 million of them, if you took a third of it, right? He says this. "Saying with a loud voice", this is what the angels are saying with a loud voice. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." And watch this, this is an interesting verse in verse 13. "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever." So John in verse 11 says "I BEHELD, and I heard". So "I beheld" means "I saw". He is saying "I saw and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand"... They're saying these words of praise. But then also, every creature which is in heaven, on the earth and under the earth, he is saying "just HEARD I saying". So he is heaven, he sees this great multitude of millions of angels singing and praising God, saying "worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power". But then he hears an echo of that. He hears the statement being made by every creature in heaven, on earth, in hell, under the sea. I mean what does that sound like? Basically this is just an amazing verse in verse 13, just showing God being praised by every single living thing that exists, whether in heaven, on earth, under the earth, in the sea. And again, this ties in with Philippians 2, where he says "every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." I believe that this would include every atheist. This is every satanist. This is every Muslim. This is every person who does not believe in Jesus Christ. Every knee shall bow some day, and every tongue shall confess. And I think John is basically getting a preview of that when he just hears this voice of every creature saying these words of praise unto the Lord Jesus Christ. And then it says "the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever." So it's a powerful chapter. An interesting chapter. Really just glorifying Jesus Christ. And really just the main thing that we gather from this chapter is just Jesus Christ's greatness and glory and worthiness. We cannot elevate the lamb too highly. We can't say "well, we don't want to give him too much glory, let's give it to the Father." No. The Son of God, the lamb, Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh- we believe that the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost, these three are one, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, these three are one- three in one. Often called "the trinity", we believe that. But we see here that Jesus Christ is worthy to receive all praise. All glory, from EVERY CREATURE, EVERYWHERE. And he is worthy to be worshipped, even though the Bible says "thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve", because Jesus is LORD, to the glory of God the Father. He is worthy of all worship and praise as well. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father we thank you so much for your Word, and thank you for this chapter. Please help us to use the truths that we have gleaned from this chapter to help us to understand other parts of Revelation. Help us to understand that the peculiar people, the holy nation, the royal priesthood is made up of every kindred, every tongue, every nation. It is not the unbelieving fraud that is called the nation of Israel today that was set up by the satanic world government, the United Nations, but Father we know that it's your people that have been cleansed and washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. Help us to realize the privilege it is be your people, and to be your children that you love and care for, and care about every prayer that we utter, and please just help us to continue our study in the book of Revelation and honour and glorify you, and in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon

Pastor Steven Anderson https://faithfulwordbaptist.org/ - https://allthepreaching.com/ -- Transcript -- Coming Soon