Turning Point - David Jeremiah

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Some books have a preface or a forward that gives
an abbreviated overview of the entire book. The Book of
Revelation achieves that in just two verses. Today, on turning point,
doctor David Jeremiah unpacks these verses to reveal why Revelation
was written in the first place. Continuing the series Escaped

(00:25):
the Coming Night, here's David to conclude his message the
inside cover of the book.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Well, this book is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ,
and it is indeed that it presents Jesus Christ in
a marvelous way as a victorious, wonderful leader who conquers
the world with his presence, but also as a loving,
compassionate friend who helps us every day. We are in

(00:52):
the midst of discovering why this book was written, and
we're given that information from the first aid verses of
the first chapter. And today we're going to finish up
our discussion of that lesson the inside cover of the
book as we talk about a few more things we
need to know about Revelation before we get too far
into its argument. So from the first eight chapters, right

(01:15):
from the text itself, here is sort of like the
preface to the Book of Revelation. We'll get to it
in a moment. Hey, friends, we have a magazine which
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(01:38):
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(02:00):
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your way. I hope you take advantage of this and
make this a very special moment as you add this
to your spiritual walk. Right now here is part two

(02:20):
of the inside cover of.

Speaker 3 (02:22):
The book, Hold Your Place in Revelation. I won't run
you through the scripture much but I want you to
see in the Book of Isaiah that there are seven
characteristics of the Spirit of the Lord. Isaiah chapter eleven.
Turn quickly there, will you please, Isaiah chapter eleven, And

(02:42):
in verses one and two you will find a listing
of the sevenfold characteristic of the Holy Spirit. It's exciting
to see it, as it's here. And there came forth
a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a
branch shall grow out of his roots, and the the
Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The Spirit

(03:03):
of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge, and the Fear of the Lord. Notice,
look down the list. The Spirit of the Lord number one,
the Spirit of wisdom number two, the Spirit of understanding
number three, the Spirit of council number four, the Spirit
of Might number five, the Spirit of Knowledge number six,
and the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord number seven,

(03:26):
the sevenfold Spirit of the Lord, the plenitude of the Spirit,
all of it. The book is published by God the Father,
and it's published by God the Holy Spirit. All right. Notice, thirdly,
it's published by God the Son. Now you need to
understand something about John when he writes in this revelation,
what is the book about? It's the apocalypsis of who?

(03:47):
Who is it? Jesus Christ. Did you ever notice how
when you have an author who's writing on a subject
he's excited about, and he's got a theme that's a
favorite theme, he's writing about almost anything, and he mentions
the theme and then he goes off for three or
four pages about the favorite subject. We do that when
we talk, don't we. You know, we have something that
we're excited about, and we're talking about general things, and

(04:08):
all of a sudden, somebody mentions something that triggers us
in the sensitive area, and off we go. Well, in
the Book of Revelation, you need to get used to it.
Whenever John mentions his theme, he kind of gets carried
away and he goes off and he begins to describe
this person who is the one that is being revealed?
Notice and from the Sun verse five, and from Jesus Christ.

(04:32):
And then John gives him three titles, the Faithful Witness,
the First Born from the Dead, and the Prince of
the Kings of the Earth. That's Jesus Christ. He has
three titles here, the Faithful Witness, the First Born from
the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Notice what it says, now, the faithful witness, the revealer.
The word witness is a Greek word, which is the

(04:54):
word martyr, of faithful witness. What was a martyr? Well
in the New Testament or at any times. A martyr
is somebody who witnesses the truth without concern for what
it means to his life. A martyr is somebody who
says the truth even though he's going to die for
the truth. So when the Bible says Jesus Christ is

(05:16):
the faithful Witness, the Book of Revelation is the only
book that ever uses that title of him. What does
it mean. It means that he witnessed faithfully and he
didn't care about what it meant to his life. He
was truly the faithful witness because he witnessed the truth
and it cost him his life. He witnessed the truth.
But it's no problem. They took his life. But he

(05:36):
was the first begotten from the dead. He's not only
the one who witnesses, but he's the one who comes
back out of the grave. The Book of the Revelation
is the only place where Jesus Christ is given the
term faithful witness. But then we are told that he
is the first born from the dead. Colossians one eighteen
also uses that of him. Because he was a faithful

(05:59):
witness to death, it allowed him to get the next title,
which is the first born from the dead. He died
as a witness, but he didn't stay in the grave
but three days, and he came out of the grave.
And when it says he was the firstborn, that means
just what it means in Corinthians when it says the
first fruits of those that slept, what does that mean.
He's a guarantee that we're going to be resurrected to,

(06:22):
just as Christ was the first fruits, and he came
out of the grave to guarantee that someday we're going
to be resurrected. When it says he's the first begotten
from the dead, that means he's one of many who
shall follow. Praise God. If we don't make it to
the rapture, we die before then we're going to participate
in the promise of this verse. He was the firstborn,
We're going to go along with him, and we shall

(06:43):
be resurrected to. But notice there's a third title, he
is the faithful witness and the first born from the dead.
But notice thirdly, he is the Prince of the Kings.
I like the way it says it in the text.
He is the Prince of the Kings of the earth.
He is the ruler of all of the kings. He

(07:05):
is the one who has taken authority from the one
who is the Prince of the kings, first begotten from
the dead, Prince of the Kings of the Earth. Now
there's something very interesting here, because the Bible speaks of
him often as a king. Jesus Christ is the King

(07:25):
of Heaven Daniel four. He's the King of the Jews.
Matthew chapter two. He's the King of Israel. John one.
He's the King of the Ages one Timothy one. He
is the King of Glory Psalm twenty four. He's the
King of the Saints Revelation fifteen. He's the King of
Kings Revelation nineteen. And I love what Daniel says. He

(07:46):
is the mighty Prince of the Kings of the Earth
Daniel chapter eight. He's king. There isn't any king over
that king. He is the ruler who is in charge.
That's Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness, the firstborn
from the dead. And John says on the Isle of Patmos,
as he views the apocalypse, as he sees the revelation
of Jesus Christ, he's the king of kings and the

(08:08):
Lord of lords. There is no higher authority than him.
He is in charge. Now. Notice he doesn't say he
will be king. He said he is king. And the
churches in Asia Minor that got this letter, who were
in persecution, and the Roman Empire was on their neck,
and they're looking at this and they're saying he's king. Well,

(08:29):
if he's king, why isn't it better than it is?
Why doesn't he do something? Isn't it interesting? John doesn't
waste any time at all telling the churches in Asia
Minor to get after the people that are making life
miserable for them, to demonstrate against the Romans. He sees
the kingdom from eternal perspective. He knows who's in charge.

(08:50):
We have here the heart of John's message, particularly as
it is intended for the Seven Churches. It is a
thing that we need to listen to, and here's what
it says. Things aren't what they seem. Now, listen carefully
from everything the Seven Churches could see and from what

(09:11):
most of us can see, it appears clear that the
kings of the Earth are where the action is. Theirs
is the clout that makes things happen. Theirs are the
actions determining the course of history. And we buy this
view of things, and it's confirmed by the assumption of
contemporary Christian activism that if things are going to be
changed at all, they have to be changed with the

(09:33):
kings of the Earth. All of our efforts are directed
at influencing the Kings of the Earth, with very little
to show in the way of accomplishment. With all this
talk about the kings of the Earth, John gives not
the slightest hint of any Christian call to be out
trying to influence them, either to change or to subvert them.

(09:53):
John reather little more than stands around and watches them
fall to pieces from their own internal weaknesses. No, things
aren't what they seem, contrary to their own inflated opinion
that crew does not hold the reigns of history. John's
very first notice of the kings of the Earth is
to proclaim that they have a ruler, and they are

(10:15):
being ruled, and that ruler because he is also the
martyr witness who has been born from the dead, already
has won the decisive victory and has established his control.
He's King of kings, and friend, I want to tell
you something. The Book of Revelation will put you at
ease when you look at the world. We're not waiting
for him to take control. He's in control. The problem is,

(10:37):
you see, things are not what they seem. The problem
is that God is real power clothed in apparent powerlessness,
and evil is a parent power which is really powerless.
When I read that, I just couldn't help but think
he's king. Now I'm glad he's in charge. I read
the rest of this book. And if I didn't think

(10:58):
he was in charge, righted. But he's king. He is
the King of kings, and he is the sovereign God,
and he's in charge. And all God's people said, Amen, Amen,
and hallelujah. The personal dedication of the book, John's going
to dedicate his book. Now, guess who John dedicates his

(11:19):
book to watch it now into verse five and verse six.
Unto him, this book is unto him, unto who, unto
him that loved us and washed us from our sins
in his own blood, and has made us to be
kings and priests under God and his Father. To him

(11:40):
be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen, Lord Jesus,
I dedicate this book to you. Notice how he describes
him three ways, who loved me and loosed me and
lifted me up to be a king. J A Seis,
who's written a wonderful commentary in the Book of Revelation, says,
we ought not to translate the word loved in the

(12:01):
past tense, for it's the word loveth in the present tense.
And he wrote this little phrase. He said, we are
apt to think of the great love of God as past,
as having spent its greatest force and reached its highest
culmination when he gave his only begotten son to humiliation
and death on our behalf. But we are mistaken. He
wrote that love is present love, and it's in full

(12:24):
force at this moment as it was when it delivered
up Jesus to the horrors of the cross. It isn't
he loved us, it's he loveth us. This book is
dedicated to one who loves us. It's dedicated to the
one who, one translation says, washed us literally, the word
wash is the same Greek word for the word loosed,
means to be set free. He set us free from

(12:46):
our sin, and he lifted us up, according to the text,
to be citizens and the kingdom, so that we could
be God's people. That's pretty good dedication, isn't it. On
the inside covered the book, this book is dedicated to Jesus.
Could I stop for just a moment and say, may
God accept our humble desire to dedicate this whole series

(13:08):
of studies to the same one, and in our own
personal lives as we study that, God would help us
to dedicate this study of the Book of Revelation to
the one who is unveiled in the book, even Jesus
Christ himself. Now there's one last thing, and that is
the purpose of the book. Verses seven and eight also

(13:29):
are from the inside cover. Here is a synopsis of
what the book is all about. Oftentimes in the preface
you will have that, but sometimes you have it in
the forward. Here is a synopsis of the book, and
verses seven and eight are a vignette of the whole
study of the Book of Revelation. It's a couple of
sentences that describe everything that's going to happen. Two things

(13:52):
happen in the Book of Revelation. First of all, the
presentation of the King and secondly, the program of the kingdom.
Notice the presentation of the King verse seven. Behold, he
comes 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, what

(14:13):
is John saying this book? The synopsis of this book
is about the coming again of Jesus and he will
ultimately be victorious. Can you imagine these people in the
Seven Churches getting this letter, oppressed by the Roman Empire,
trodden down because of their faith, being persecuted because they
accepted Christ and witnessed for him, and they get this letter,

(14:35):
and in the very front of the letter, the book
has as its synopsis, We're going to write this book
so that you will understand that Jesus Christ is coming back,
and he's going to be victorious, and all of those
who are his enemies are going to be under his feet.
He will win. And so the little person who's being
persecuted and walking down and discouraged and wondering what's going on,

(14:59):
he reads that in all of the sudden, he finds
out a truth that changes his whole attitude. He finds
out he's on the winning team. The score has already
been totaled up in Jesus won, and it's right there
in the front. The Bible says, He's coming back. The
word coming here is the word parosia. Let me tell
you what that word means. The word parosa is the

(15:19):
ordinary Greek word for coming or advent, but it came
to be applied in terms of prophecy for the arrival
of Christ in what we normally call the second coming.
This is not his rapture. This is his second advent
when he comes, but not just coming anywhere. The Greek

(15:40):
word carries a special connotation that can be helpful to us.
A parosa, now watch, This is an entrance that immediately
changes the situation into which the entrance is made. When
the teacher is out of the room and a great
and wild eraser fight erupts, all of a sudden, the
parosa of the teacher comes, and as soon as the

(16:01):
teacher makes her appearance into the room, it has a
decided effect upon the situation. Erasers are stopped in mid
air as they fly across the room, and students get
the most sober look on their face. They look more
pious than ever before in their history. The teacher has

(16:22):
had her perusia, and she's made a difference. Let me
tell you something. When Jesus makes his parosa, he's going
to make a difference. When he comes into the situation,
things are going to change, and what's going to happen.
Look down in your bibles. Behold, he comes with clouds,
and every eye shall see him, and they which pierced him,
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.

(16:44):
Even so, Amen, if you study your Bibles, you will
discover that every time there is an appearance of Jesus
in the clouds, it is always for him to express
in some measure his judgment. If you go back to
the Old Testament, you will fly that at the giving
of the Law on Mount Sinei, there was a thick
cloud upon the mount. When the worship of the Tabernacle

(17:07):
was set up in the wilderness, a cloud covered the
tent of the congregation. At jesus transfiguration, he and the
disciples were overshadowed by a cloud. And when the Lord
ascended to heaven, a cloud received him out of their sight.
Daniel predicted that the Messiah would come in Daniel seven thirteen.
He said, and I saw in the night visions and

(17:28):
behold one like the Son of Man, coming with the
clouds of heaven. And the Bible says, everybody is going
to see him come. Now, that can't be the rapture.
Not everybody's going to see the rapture. The rapture is
going to come as a what, as a thief in
the night. The Lord's going to just come and steal
us away. People will wake up the next morning and

(17:48):
they won't even know, they won't even know what happened.
They'll just know a whole lot of folks are gone.
Some folks in their family will be gone. There won't
be anybody see that the rapture, just as the quiet
catch away of God's people. But the Second Advent seven
years later, that's a different story. The Bible says, when
Christ comes in his glory, I'll watch this now. Every

(18:09):
eye shall see him. Don't let anybody tell you that's
close circuit television, that's not satellite. We won't need any
of that. His coming will be in such brightness and
such glory. Every eye shall see him. I cannot comprehend it.
That's what the book says. Every eye shall see him.

(18:29):
You say, Pastor, that's impossible the way the world's made up.
I know. But the one who's coming made the world.
Every eye shall see him, and especially it says those
that pierced him. That's a veiled reference to the Jews.
You will find another reference to that in Zachariah twelve ten.
You can study it on your own. Now, what did
John say? John says, I just want you folks to

(18:51):
know that the subject of this book is He's coming back.
You better get ready. That's the presentation of the king.
But notice, secondly, the program of the kingdom verse eight,
I am Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the ending
saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which
is to come the l Shaddai. What is he saying.

(19:14):
He's saying, I'm in charge. Just want you to know
before I come, and while I'm coming, and after I come,
I'm the king and I'm in charge. When he uses
the words alpha and omega, he takes the first letter
of the Greek alphabet and the last letter of the
Greek alphabet. He says, I am the A and the z,
the alph and the Tao. Those are the two letters

(19:36):
in the Greek alphabet, and they are mentioned not just
to point to the fact that he's eternal. They are
mentioned to point out that he is the one who
is totally in charge. It's his inclusive power. The expression
from alph to Tao means that he is greater than
the process of time. He precedes the beginning of creation,

(19:59):
and he survived the end of man's day. He is
the A to z, the Alpha and Omega, the eternal,
the omnipotent God who will straighten things out when he comes.
You see, the Revelation is the account of Jesus' campaign
for the rulership of the earth. That's what it's all about.
The book tells of his relation to the Church, his

(20:21):
appointment by the Father to the throne, his campaign against
Satanic forces of evil, and his final victory the establishment
of his eternal kingdom. And the book is synopsized here
in this verse by saying, this book is about the
coming of the King. In the program of the kingdom.
He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and

(20:43):
the end. The Alshaddai, the almighty God, he's in charge.
The sovereign God rules the earth. In the Last World War,
when the Japanese military took over Korea from the civil
administration of Japan, there were in the country some forty churches,

(21:06):
forty little Baptist churches with five thousand members in them.
Because they were so faithful in meeting together, the Japanese
military called the president of the local Baptist congress and
with endless questions, he interrogated him hour after hour, demanding
what these Korean Baptists believed. He wanted to know what

(21:28):
was going on. After hours of exhausting interrogation, they finally
got down to the second Coming of Christ. And the
interrogators of the Japanese military authority said, and what do
you believe about the second coming of the Lord? And
the pastor and the president of the convention said, we

(21:49):
believe that this same Jesus shall return just as he
went away. And the Japanese military said, and then what
And the pastor said, and then every knee shall bow
and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the
glory of God the Father. And the Japanese military said,
does that include our great Divine Emperor too? And the

(22:13):
pastor replied, sir, it includes your Emperor, for our savior
is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
And the Japanese military said, do you believe this for
yourself alone? Or do all of you believe it? And
the pastor said, sir, we all believe it. And they
gathered up all forty of those pastors and they put

(22:33):
them in prison. And after three or four years of
trial and persecution beyond description, the pastor, who was the
leader of the congress and who was answering the questions
died of terrible exposure and privation. One by one, most
of the other pastors died, and when finally the few
that remained were liberated, two of them died upon their liberation.

(22:55):
And that is the fabric of God's believing disciples. Do
you believe this for you self or do all of
you believe it? And the pastor and the president of
the Congress says, sir, we all believe it, and we
need to say today we believe it. Behold, he comes, Yes,
He's coming, And the scripture says, amen, so be it.
Even so, Come Lord Jesus. That's the message of the book.

(23:19):
Jesus is coming. And he's in charge. No wonder, I'm
excited about studying it. I've never seen a day in
my life when things are crazier than they are today.
I need to get back to the script. The script
is what seems to be isn't and what doesn't seem
to be is He's in charge and he's coming soon. Amen.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
When we have on the horizon the hope of heaven
and the return of Christ, it changes everything. We are
able to deal with some of the issues that happen.
Then we don't understand because we know someone's in charge
and we're headed in the right direction when we walk
with the Lord tomorrow. Here on turning Point, we began

(24:10):
a discussion of the seven Churches of Revelation one through three.
The lesson tomorrow is called Christ and His Churches. It's
an overview of these many churches that will study individually
in the next few weeks. Don't miss Tomorrow, a real
pivotal lesson in this discussion, and don't forget The resource

(24:31):
for this month is the book Escape the Coming Night,
a two hundred and ninety page contemporary commentary on the
Book of Revelation. This is yours for a gift of
any size to Turning Point. We'll send it to you
right away. Simply ask for it when you send your
gift today, And thank you so much for listening.

Speaker 1 (24:55):
Our message today came you from Shadow Mountain Community Church
and senior Past Doctor David Jeremiah. What is God doing
in your life as a result of this ministry? Write
and tell us at Turning Point Po Box thirty eight
thirty eight, San Diego, California, nine two one sixty three.
Visit our website at David Jeremiah dot org, Slash Radio,

(25:17):
or call eight hundred ninety four seven nineteen ninety three
ask for your copy of David's best selling in depth
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(25:39):
To access our content, visit Davidjeremiah dot og Slash Radio
for details. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow
as we continue the series Escape the Coming Night on
Turning Point with Doctor David Jeremiah