June 15, 2024 • 33 mins
Are you ready to unlock the profound mysteries of the book of Revelation? This episode promises to demystify what many find daunting, offering a balanced approach that neither shies away from its complexities nor becomes lost in its prophetic depths. We begin by setting the stage with an introduction that includes the letters to the seven churches and the majestic heavenly throne room, providing a broad yet insightful look at the theological significance of these early chapters. Expect to gain a solid grasp of the four main interpretative views—Preterist, Historicist, Idealist, and Futurist—giving you the tools to appreciate the diverse ways Revelation can be understood.
Ever wondered how God's timeless perspective transforms the nature of prophecy? We'll explore how the promises in Revelation defy our chronological expectations, coming to fruition suddenly and unexpectedly. Special attention is given to the blessing for those who read, hear, and obey this book, and John's greeting to the seven churches in Asia Minor, laden with the rich symbolism of the Trinity. The episode also delves into the prophetic vision of Jesus' return, emphasizing its universal witness, even by those who crucified Him. As John transitions into his detailed visions, we lay the groundwork for understanding the profound revelations that follow.
What does it mean to hold fast to faith in the face of exile and hardship? We reflect on the Apostle John's unwavering faith despite his isolation on Patmos, drawing parallels to modern challenges in Christianity. The vision of Jesus, holding authority over death with a two-edged sword coming from His mouth, provides a powerful image of hope and triumph. We discuss the comforting message of "Fear not," resonating through the reactions of other biblical prophets to divine revelations. Join us as we draw inspiration from John's resilience, encouraging steadfast faith and hope even in today's trying circumstances.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Well, thank you for joining me in this
verse-by-verse Bible study.
I'm Randy Duncan and I'mexcited for this episode as we
begin our study of thefascinating book of Revelation.
But before we jump right in, Ithink a few words of
introduction to the book areboth appropriate and necessary,
because no book in the Bible hasbeen interpreted in so many
different ways as Revelation,and so it's wide open for
(00:33):
speculation and spiritualization, for prophecy enthusiasts,
end-of-the-world date-settersand just all sorts of varying
interpretations.
And also, I think we often failwith Revelation in one of two
extremes.
One we ignore it because wedon't think we can understand it
, and so it's often overlookedor even ignored in our personal
(00:54):
Bible studies and even in ourchurches.
We think it's too complicatedor that nobody can interpret the
true meaning or figure out allthe symbolic language used, so
we just don't even bother trying.
Many churches never dip theirtoe into the water of Revelation
because it's much easier, muchmore comfortable to stick with
the books we're familiar with,like the Gospels or Romans,
(01:17):
galatians, corinthians and so on.
Look, it's not easy.
It's not going to be easy now.
Look, it's not easy.
It's not going to be easy now.
But very few things in lifethat are worth doing ever are,
and many times in life you'llfind that the most gains or the
biggest lessons are on the otherside of the work that you're
avoiding.
But the other extreme in one'sapproach to Revelation is to
(01:39):
become so enamored with it thatit's all you want to spend your
time studying.
And you can see with someministries or churches that
revelation is the primary topicof discussion and with that
often comes a continual andnever-ending discussion of end
times, prophecy signs andpotential end-of-the-world date
(02:01):
setting.
And look, it's normal for us towant to know what will happen
in the future, and many peopleeven have a fascination with
knowing the future.
I mean that's why they read andstudy their horoscope or go to
fortune tellers and palm readers, or they used to call psychic
hotlines, or they even dabble inthe occult.
Now there's obviously a needfor Christians to be aware of
(02:22):
what's happening in the world,to be vigilant and informed and
to be able to discern the signsof the times.
But I think we need to becautious of that becoming our
primary focus and fixation.
It was never intended to bethat way.
Revelation's primary theologicalcontribution is concerning the
doctrine of the last things, andin it we're provided insights
(02:45):
into things such as the finalpolitical setup of the world,
the last war in the world, theAntichrist Christ's
thousand-year reign, the finalstate of those who have rejected
Christ, and we get a glimpse ofthe glory of heaven.
And so we need to putRevelation in its proper
perspective, neither avoiding orbeing intimidated by it, but
(03:05):
also not focusing on it so muchthat it leads to the ignoring of
the rest of Scripture, because,just like we read in 2 Timothy
3.16, all Scripture is breathedout by God and profitable for
teaching.
And so, having said all of that, just a few words of
introduction here before we getstarted.
First, the name of the book isRevelation, not Revelations.
(03:29):
It's singular, not plural.
The book is a singularrevelation given by Jesus.
Now, when most people think ofRevelation, they immediately
think of things like theAntichrist and the number of the
beast 666, not being able tobuy or sell.
They think of judgments, wrath,war, armageddon, the millennial
(03:51):
kingdom, the rapture, and onand on.
But before we get there, afterthe first chapter, we have two
chapters where Jesus narratesseven letters to seven churches,
giving them both positive andnegative critiques and warnings.
This is followed by twochapters of a scene from God's
throne room in heaven, and thenin chapter six, all of the
(04:12):
action that we typicallyassociate with Revelation begins
.
Not only do we often avoidRevelation, but when people do
study it, they often ignorethose early chapters,
particularly the first threechapters, and we are obviously
not going to make that mistakehere.
Now, the last thing I want tomention before we dive in is in
regards to interpretation.
(04:33):
How do we go about interpretingRevelation?
Well, you know the saying thatwhere there are two preachers,
there are three opinions, andthat's not far from the truth.
Regarding Revelation, it'sprobably the most controversial
book in all of scripture, withmore and varying interpretations
than any other book.
Now, like I said, no other bookposes more challenges in
(04:56):
interpretation, but in general,there are four primary views on
how we should interpretRevelation, and within these
four approaches there arefurther variations of each and
there also exists some overlapbetween the four.
But basically, there are fourapproaches taken the Preterist
view, the Historicist view, theIdealist view and the Futurist
(05:19):
view.
Now, I'm not going to do afull-blown study in comparison
of each of these, as that wouldbe a full study in and of itself
, but I want you to at least beaware of each of these
approaches and to understandthat there's more than one way
in which people interpretRevelation, and so here is a
Reader's Digest version or ahigh-level flyby of each, just
(05:40):
so you know what each approachbelieves.
The Preterist view interpretsRevelation as a description of
first century events in theRoman Empire.
In other words, revelation isdescribing only events that
happened or were happeningduring the Roman persecution of
the Jews back in the firstcentury, and so they see the
events of Revelation as havingalready been fulfilled, and it
(06:03):
culminated in the destruction ofJerusalem.
The historicist view interpretsrevelation as being sort of a
panoramic view of church historyfrom the time of the apostles
up until present day, and sothey see in the symbolism
different eras such as theoverthrow of Rome by the
barbarians or the rise of theRoman Catholic Church, the
(06:24):
emergence of Islam and just therise and fall of civilizations.
The idealist view interpretsRevelation as just sort of this
timeless description of thebattle of good versus evil, and
the book is merely designed toteach us timeless spiritual
truths, but it's not to be readliterally.
And finally there's thefuturist view.
(06:46):
This view believes that theevents from chapter 6 through 22
are to happen at some point inthe future and that the events
described are actual, realevents.
Now some people also believethat Revelation is simply John
using all of these differentsymbols as communicating through
some code language that onlythe Jews would understand in
(07:08):
order to avoid persecution.
However, it's hard to believethat the Roman authorities
wouldn't recognize this sort ofanti-Roman perspective and,
furthermore, most of thesymbolism in Revelation is
explained in Revelation, so thatwouldn't make the best code
language.
But in reality, mostcommentators will take an
(07:29):
eclectic or mixed, this blended,approach to Revelation and, in
all transparency, that's theview that I personally hold as
well, because some of theelements of Revelation are
clearly future, such as thesecond coming and the
resurrection of the saints, someare in the past and some are
(07:51):
probably describing at least thebeginning stages or the buildup
of events we are witnessing inour present age.
Now, as we go along in thisstudy, I may refer to one or
more of these views and attemptto share the best arguments for
each of these views as well asthe best critique of each of the
views.
But I don't want to get boggedviews as well as the best
critique of each of the views,but I don't want to get bogged
down doing this on the front endof our study.
And so, with those introductorywords out of the way, let's jump
(08:13):
into the book of Revelationwith the first three verses,
which read the Revelation ofJesus Christ which God gave him
to show to his servants thethings that must soon take place
.
He made it known by sending hisangel to his servant, john, who
bore witness to the word of Godand to the testimony of Jesus
Christ, even to all that he saw.
Blessed is the one who readsaloud the words of this prophecy
(08:36):
, and blessed are those who hearand who keep what is written in
it, for the time is near.
So the book begins by statingthat this is a revelation of
Jesus Christ.
Now, that word revelation inthe Greek is actually the word
apocalypsis, which is where weget the word apocalypse, and
many people associate this termfor the end times or the
(08:58):
beginning of the end.
But it actually means theuncovering or unveiling of
something hidden, something oncehidden becoming visible, in
other words, a revealing, whichis where we get the name of the
book Revelation.
Now, although John will bephysically writing, this also
tells us who the ultimate authoris.
(09:18):
It's the revelation of JesusChrist which God gave to him.
The revelation comes from Godthrough Jesus Christ, who
communicates it to John throughan angel.
Now, verse 1 not only tells uswho are the ultimate authors,
but also the subject, which isto inform John what must soon
take place.
Now, just so you're aware, somepeople who hold a preterist view
(09:42):
will argue that since John saysthat these things must happen
soon, that it can't possiblyspeaking of events 2,000 years
in the future.
And so Revelation isn't talkingabout things that are future
for us, because it's been 2,000years now and it still hasn't
happened.
And so all of the eventsdescribed in Revelation are
(10:02):
describing the persecution ofthe Jews by the Romans and again
, ultimately, the destruction ofJerusalem in 70 AD.
However, the Greek word usedhere that is translated as soon
is the word takos, which meansspeed.
It's where we get our wordtachometer, which is what
measures RPMs in your vehicle.
(10:22):
And so critics of thatpreterist view would argue that
it doesn't mean that the eventsJohn is describing will
necessarily happen soon, butrather, once they begin to
happen, they will happen withspeed, they will unfold quickly,
and so this isn't referringnecessarily to soonness, but to
rapidity of execution once itbegins.
(10:43):
And I think maybe part ofunderstanding this is to
understand the nature ofprophecy itself.
First, we know that God'sperspective of time is not the
same as ours.
As 2 Peter tells us, you shouldremember the predictions of the
holy prophets and thecommandments of the Lord and
Savior through your apostles,knowing this first of all, that
scoffers will come in the lastdays, with scoffing following
(11:07):
their own sinful desires, theywill say where is the promise of
his coming?
But do not overlook this onefact beloved that with the Lord
one day is as a thousand yearsand a thousand years is one day.
But the day of the Lord willcome like a thief.
And just an observation howdoes a thief come?
Not necessarily chronologicallysoon, but suddenly,
(11:31):
unexpectedly quickly.
In verse 3, we see a specialblessing promised.
Revelation is the only book inthe Bible that promises a
special blessing to those whoread it, those who hear it and
those who keep or respond inobedience to what is written.
I mean that alone should beenough to gain your full
attention.
(11:51):
But we continue with verses 4through 8, which read John to
the seven churches that are inAsia grace to you and peace from
him who is and who was and whois to come and from the seven
spirits who are before histhrone, and from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness, thefirstborn.
So what we see in these versesis really a greeting from John
(12:27):
to the seven churches which werein Asia.
Now, when you hear Asia, don'tthink of the continent of Asia,
as in China, japan, india, southKorea.
Asia here is referring to theRoman province of Asia and what
we refer to as Asia Minor, whichis essentially modern-day
Turkey, and there were seven keycities there and it was to the
(12:48):
churches in these cities thatJohn is writing.
But John says to them Grace toyou and peace, which is
essentially the Greek equivalentof the Jewish expression shalom
, but grace and peace to youfrom who?
From him, who is and who wasand who is to come, which is
clearly God and hearkens back toGod, explaining to Moses that I
(13:12):
am, that I am the self-existentand eternal one whose name
simply implies being, but notonly from God, but also from the
seven spirits who are beforehis throne.
Now, the identity of theseseven spirits is not fully clear
.
Some believe and early Judaismthought in terms of seven
(13:32):
archangels before God's throne.
The problem with that view isthat Revelation never uses the
word spirits to refer to angels,and so for that reason most
commentators take the sevenspirits as referring to the
sevenfold spirit of God or theHoly Spirit.
Again, seven's the number ofcompleteness, so John is most
(13:53):
likely referring to the fullnessof the Holy Spirit.
And then, finally, grace andpeace, also from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness, thefirstborn of the dead.
And so John has now includedall three persons of the Trinity
God, the Father, the Son andHoly Spirit.
And right after, in the rest ofverse 5, john basically sums up
(14:16):
the gospel by saying to him wholoves us and has freed us from
our sins by his blood, to him beglory and dominion forever and
ever.
Amen.
I mean, that's basically ashort, one-sentence summation of
the gospel message.
But John continues in verses 7and 8, which read Amen, even
(14:39):
those who pierced him and alltribes of the earth will wail on
account of him.
Even so, amen, I am the Alphaand the Omega, says the Lord,
god who is and who was and whois to come, the Almighty.
I mean, we're getting thisseven verses into chapter one,
(15:00):
and this sounds like what weshould be ending the book of
Revelation with.
But this is only the end of thegreeting, john writes to the
seven churches.
But John says that he is comingwith the clouds and every eye
will see him.
This sounds a lot like the samesort of description the prophet
Daniel provided in chapter 7,where Daniel, speaking of the
Son of man, says and behold,with the clouds of heaven there
came one like a son of man, andhe came to the Ancient of Days
(15:24):
and was presented before him,and to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom that allpeoples, nations and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlastingdominion which shall not pass
away, and his kingdom one thatshall not be destroyed.
But John also says that everyeye will see him, even those who
pierced him, and all the tribeson earth will wail on account
(15:47):
of him.
Now understand, when it sayspierced, here it's a reference
to Jesus' crucifixion.
I mean they pierced his handsand his feet.
(16:12):
In Psalm 22, we read so clearly.
This is an allusion to theexecution of Jesus.
But here we read that every eyewill see him, even those who
pierced him, and all the tribeson earth will wail on account of
him.
Now, when it says it's nottalking about the Roman soldiers
who actually nailed him to thecross, but most likely to the
(16:34):
Jewish leadership responsiblefor his execution.
And, as we just read above,even Zechariah identifies those
who pierced him as being thehouse of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem.
But John also says that alltribes of the earth will wail on
account of him.
Now Zechariah prophesied thatthe inhabitants of Jerusalem
will weep genuine tears ofrepentance for what they did to
(16:57):
their Messiah.
But there will also be amourning from the rest of the
inhabitants of the earth also bea mourning from the rest of the
inhabitants of the earth.
It may also be from a genuinerepentance, but will most likely
be from guilt of sin and fearof the coming punishment.
But what we see now as we wrapup verse 8, john has concluded
his introduction and greeting tothe seven churches and,
beginning in verse 9, hetransitions now to his actual
(17:21):
vision.
And we read in verses 9 through11, behind me a voice like a
trumpet saying write what yousee in a book and send it to the
(17:44):
seven churches, to Ephesus andto Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and
to Thyatira and to Sardis and toPhiladelphia and to Laodicea.
And so he begins by identifyinghimself as a brother and
partner in the tribulation inthe kingdom, john was a fellow
sufferer, along with thesechurches, for the gospel.
In fact, he says that he was onthe island on account of the
(18:07):
word of God and the testimony ofJesus.
In other words, john was on theisland of Patmos, exiled as
punishment by the state forpreaching the gospel.
Now Patmos was a rocky sort of amountainous, crescent-shaped
island, located about 30 milesoff the coast of Asia Minor,
which again is modern-day Turkey.
It's about eight miles long,about six miles wide.
(18:30):
But the Romans used this islandas a place of political
banishment.
Now, oftentimes people of alower social status were
executed or enslaved or banishedto the mines, mines or sent to
die in the gladiator games.
But rulers also used banishmentto an island to rid themselves
of influential troublemakerswithout having to kill them.
(18:52):
And so John had been banishedto the island of Patmos and
unless the government lifted thebanishment, those banished to
the island would remain thereuntil they died.
Early Christian tradition saysthat the Roman Emperor Domitian
sent John to Patmos and thatJohn was released after the
death of Domitian, who wasassassinated in AD 96.
(19:13):
But notice what John says.
He says I was in the Spirit onthe Lord's day Now.
When he says he was in theSpirit, this is most likely a
reference to the Holy Spirit andthe resulting Spirit-guided and
Spirit-empowered propheticinspiration.
And when he says on the Lord'sDay, he would have most likely
been referring to Sunday, whenearly Christians gathered to
(19:36):
commemorate the resurrection ofJesus on Sunday.
But it's interesting John isaware that it's Sunday and he is
in a spiritual way when hereceives this revelation from
God.
He was spiritually prepared andI wonder how often do we
potentially miss communicationfrom God because he's drowned
out in our lives by the loudnessand the busyness of this world?
(19:59):
And maybe we don't ever receivedeeper revelations from God
because we're so occupied by allthe noise in our lives?
Perhaps we would be wise tomore often follow the wisdom of
Psalm 46, 10, which says bestill and know that I am God.
But I can just about guaranteeyou that's something that won't
just happen by accident.
(20:19):
That'll have to be a consciousdecision on your part to make it
happen.
Because just an observationmany Christians spend time
talking to other Christiansabout God, but they don't spend
a lot of time actually talkingto God.
But John hears a voice behindhim say write what you see in a
book and send it to the sevenchurches, to Ephesus and Smyrna,
(20:41):
pergamum, and to Thyatira andto Sardis, to Philadelphia and
to Laodicea.
It's interesting John is toldto write down what he sees and
send it to the seven churches.
Daniel was told to shut up thevision that he had received, to
shut up the words and seal thebook even until the end of the
age.
But now John is told what Writedown what you see in a book and
(21:05):
send it to the seven churches.
At the end of the book, inRevelation 22, 10, he's again
told do not seal the sayings ofthe prophecy of this book, for
the time is at hand.
But these will be the sevenchurches in the seven cities.
John will write letters, ashe's told to do.
And one of the questions that'sasked is well, why these seven
(21:25):
churches?
Because we know that there weremore than seven churches in the
area at this time.
So why these seven?
I mean, what about the churchin Rome or Jerusalem, or Antioch
?
It's interesting too that sevenis the number of completeness,
and so some argue that theseseven churches were
representative of all thechurches in the world.
(21:46):
In fact, they argue that, ifyou look at the letters when we
get to them, that in order,these churches represent the
various eras of church historythroughout history.
But critics argue that, look,when you look at the order in
which the letters are written,it actually follows the path
that a messenger would take ifhe were in fact delivering those
(22:07):
letters.
In other words, the order ofthe letters follows the natural
path that you would travel todeliver the letters to each city
.
But, as we'll see, even ifthese letters don't portray the
history of the church throughoutthe ages, most churches
probably fall into one of thecategories that Jesus calls out,
but we'll dive more into thatover the next two chapters.
(22:28):
But John turns to see who isspeaking to him and we read,
midst of the lampstands, onelike a son of man, clothed with
a long robe and with a goldensash around his chest.
The hairs of his head werewhite like white wool, like snow
(22:51):
, his eyes were like a flame offire, his feet were like
burnished bronze, refined in afurnace, and his voice was like
a trumpet, which is probablyjust an expression of the
(23:15):
clarity of Jesus' voice.
But he turns and notices sevengolden lampstands.
Well, what in the world is themeaning of the lampstands?
Fortunately we don't have tospeculate, because in verse 20,
it tells us that the sevengolden lampstands are the seven
churches.
But in the midst of the sevenlampstands John saw one like the
(23:37):
Son of man.
Now, this expression Son of manharkens back to Daniel 7, 13
and his vision of God's agent.
But Son of man is also thetitle that Jesus used of himself
more than any other.
He used it of himself 81 timesin the Gospels.
But I think this image of Jesusamong the lampstands is an
(23:57):
important one.
Here Again, the lampstandsrepresent the seven churches and
there is God's presence amongthem.
In Exodus, the lampstand in thetabernacle had seven lamps made
to shine light in the holyplace, and now we see the
lampstand as a church living inGod's presence, and it's meant
(24:17):
to reflect both God's word anddeed to the world.
As believers, we are the churchand we're supposed to shine by
the power of the Holy Spirit,giving the message of Christ for
those people still living indarkness.
John says that he was clothedwith a long robe and with a
golden sash around his chest.
This would, of course, recallthe high priest and suggest that
(24:40):
Jesus is our high priest, butit also speaks of garments worn
by kings at the time, whichmakes sense because Jesus is our
king and our high priest.
But John continues with hisdescription of this vision of
Christ, saying the hairs of hishead were white like white wool,
like snow, and his eyes werelike flame of fire.
His feet were like burnishedbronze.
(25:02):
And we see here again that Johnuses a very similar description
as Daniel did in his visionback in Daniel 7-9, where Daniel
describes his vision of God,the ancient of days, with the
white hair, the emblem of ageand honor and possibly wisdom.
His eyes were like a flame offire.
His feet were like burnishedbronze, refined in a furnace,
(25:24):
and his voice was like the roarof many waters.
I mean, all of this imagerydepicts the radiance and
brilliance of Jesus, you know,and I wonder if this is similar
to how he looked to Peter, jamesand John on the Mount of
Transfiguration years earlier.
But look, the descriptions ofJesus here are not simply to
describe what he looked like butto declare his power.
(25:46):
I mean, he's the Lord of theuniverse, the one who has power
over life and death.
And John says in verse 16, inhis right hand he held seven
stars and from his mouth came asharp two-edged sword and his
face shining like the sun, makessense, based on what we just
covered.
But what are the seven stars heheld in his right hand all
(26:09):
about?
Again, we don't have tospeculate because we're told in
verse 20, they are the angels ofthe seven churches.
Okay, but what?
They are the angels of theseven churches, okay, but what
or who are the angels of theseven churches?
Now, this is much debated.
On one hand, there's the beliefthat the seven angels are
actually the human leaders ofthe church, such as pastors and
(26:29):
elders and so forth, and theybelieve this because, they argue
, look, angels are never leadersin the church.
But others disagree, arguingthat there are no instances in
the New Testament or inRevelation where the word angel
refers to a pastor or any humanleader, and so the more likely
interpretation is that theseangels refer to what we
(26:51):
typically mean when we refer toangels creatures who are
heavenly beings and play asignificant role in serving God.
And we know from other placesin scripture, like Matthew and
Acts and Daniel, that angelsserve in roles such as guarding
individuals and nations, and soperhaps the letters are
addressed to these angelsbecause they play a special role
(27:12):
in protecting the churches fromthe designs of Satan.
But John also says that from hismouth came a sharp, two-edged
sword.
Now, verse 20 doesn't explainthis one to us, but Hebrews 4.12
does, telling us that the wordof God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of
soul and spirit, of joints andof marrow, and discerning the
(27:36):
thoughts and intentions of theheart.
And so how does John react?
When he turned and he saw Jesus, the last four verses of the
chapter tell us.
And when I saw him, I fell athis feet as though dead.
But he laid his right hand onme saying Fear not, I am the
first and the last and theliving one.
I died and behold, I am thefirst and the last and the
living one.
I died and behold, I am aliveforevermore and I have the keys
(27:59):
of death and Hades.
So upon seeing this revelationof the glory of Jesus, what does
John do?
He falls at his feet, thoughdead.
This is the same reaction menhave had in other places in
scripture.
Other prophets had the samereaction when seeing even
angelic beings Ezekiel fell onhis face when shown even the
(28:20):
likeness of God's glory.
And Daniel, who stood up to andeven defied.
Nebuchadnezzar did the samewhen he saw the angel Gabriel.
Now, none of these men wereweak.
In fact, based on their lives,we see just the opposite, that
they were strong men, and so itshows us just how overwhelming
the presence of divinity is inreality.
(28:42):
I mean, it's one thing to talkabout what it's like and what
you think you'll do or say whenyou come face to face with God,
but it's an entirely differentthing when you actually come
face to face with ultimatereality.
And my guess is that we'll alldo exactly as these strong men
did.
We'll all fall on our face.
But if you notice in scripture,every time men fall on their
(29:05):
faces, what's the first thingthey're told?
Fear not, do not be afraid.
In fact, this is the mostrepeated phrase or command in
scripture Do not be afraid,which should provide us with
some comfort and reassurance.
However, notice who God saysthis to, or has his angels say
(29:25):
this to Good men, god-fearingmen or women, as was the case
with Mary and the angel Gabriel.
In other words, god isn'tcommunicating with evil men and
reassuring them by saying do notbe afraid, because they have
every reason to fear.
But after telling John to notbe afraid.
He continues by saying I am thefirst and the last and the
(29:47):
living one.
I died and behold, I am aliveforevermore.
So if you thought that maybethis message came from anyone
other than Jesus, then thatshould remove all doubt.
This verse involves Jesus'triumph over death and
identifies him as the first andthe last, the Alpha and Omega.
And so Jesus is opening hismessage by announcing his deity
(30:10):
and because he conquered death,because he's God.
He also says and I have thekeys of death and Hades.
Now, death and Hades aresometimes used as sort of
synonyms, but death is thecondition, hades is a location,
hades is a translation of theHebrew word Sheol and it refers
to the realm of the dead.
(30:30):
But when he says, I hold thekeys, keys signify authority,
because those who have keys areable to open and shut that which
is locked.
Even in ancient times, theperson who held the keys was an
important official positionbecause they were able to admit
or shut out people from thepresence of the king.
Now, death and Hades togetherrepresent death's power.
(30:53):
But it's important to remember,especially when you look around
the world today.
Jesus told Peter that I willbuild my church and the gates of
Hades will not prevail againstit.
Now we've basically alreadytackled the last two verses, but
for the sake of completeness,verses 19 and 20 read write,
therefore, the things that youhave seen, those that are and
(31:16):
those that, and so again, wealready discussed these verses
above, but I want to end thisfirst chapter by just briefly
(31:37):
reflecting on John, who may verywell be the last remaining
apostle.
All of the hardships he endured, seeing the death of all the
other disciples, the executionof several of them, now elderly
and sitting on the island ofPatmos, where he's been banished
, exiled.
And yet, even after all that heendured.
(31:58):
He was aware that it was theLord's day.
He was in a spiritual way, hewas spiritually ready, for when
God called, john wasn'tsurrounded by family and friends
, there were none of his fellowapostles at his side, he had no
home, and yet he endured.
And I wonder, can the same besaid, will it be said, of us
(32:21):
when we see Christianity erodingin America, when we witness the
increased persecution ofChristians even in America?
Will we, like John, endure tothe end, even in exile?
Even in exile, there's still apromise, there's still a song,
there's still a rock where myhelp comes from.
(32:43):
Hope is not lost, hope is notgone, even in exile, fire by
night, cloud by day, god of allheaven gonna lead my way, no
(33:04):
matter how long.
Still gonna pray night, even inexile.
I will see the goodness of theLord, even in exile.
I will see the goodness of theLord, even in exile.
Well, thank you for joining me in this
verse-by-verse Bible study.
I'm Randy Duncan and I'mexcited for this episode as we
begin our study of thefascinating book of Revelation.
But before we jump right in, Ithink a few words of
introduction to the book areboth appropriate and necessary,
because no book in the Bible hasbeen interpreted in so many
different ways as Revelation,and so it's wide open for
(00:33):
speculation and spiritualization, for prophecy enthusiasts,
end-of-the-world date-settersand just all sorts of varying
interpretations.
And also, I think we often failwith Revelation in one of two
extremes.
One we ignore it because wedon't think we can understand it
, and so it's often overlookedor even ignored in our personal
(00:54):
Bible studies and even in ourchurches.
We think it's too complicatedor that nobody can interpret the
true meaning or figure out allthe symbolic language used, so
we just don't even bother trying.
Many churches never dip theirtoe into the water of Revelation
because it's much easier, muchmore comfortable to stick with
the books we're familiar with,like the Gospels or Romans,
(01:17):
galatians, corinthians and so on.
Look, it's not easy.
It's not going to be easy now.
Look, it's not easy.
It's not going to be easy now.
But very few things in lifethat are worth doing ever are,
and many times in life you'llfind that the most gains or the
biggest lessons are on the otherside of the work that you're
avoiding.
But the other extreme in one'sapproach to Revelation is to
(01:39):
become so enamored with it thatit's all you want to spend your
time studying.
And you can see with someministries or churches that
revelation is the primary topicof discussion and with that
often comes a continual andnever-ending discussion of end
times, prophecy signs andpotential end-of-the-world date
(02:01):
setting.
And look, it's normal for us towant to know what will happen
in the future, and many peopleeven have a fascination with
knowing the future.
I mean that's why they read andstudy their horoscope or go to
fortune tellers and palm readers, or they used to call psychic
hotlines, or they even dabble inthe occult.
Now there's obviously a needfor Christians to be aware of
(02:22):
what's happening in the world,to be vigilant and informed and
to be able to discern the signsof the times.
But I think we need to becautious of that becoming our
primary focus and fixation.
It was never intended to bethat way.
Revelation's primary theologicalcontribution is concerning the
doctrine of the last things, andin it we're provided insights
(02:45):
into things such as the finalpolitical setup of the world,
the last war in the world, theAntichrist Christ's
thousand-year reign, the finalstate of those who have rejected
Christ, and we get a glimpse ofthe glory of heaven.
And so we need to putRevelation in its proper
perspective, neither avoiding orbeing intimidated by it, but
(03:05):
also not focusing on it so muchthat it leads to the ignoring of
the rest of Scripture, because,just like we read in 2 Timothy
3.16, all Scripture is breathedout by God and profitable for
teaching.
And so, having said all of that, just a few words of
introduction here before we getstarted.
First, the name of the book isRevelation, not Revelations.
(03:29):
It's singular, not plural.
The book is a singularrevelation given by Jesus.
Now, when most people think ofRevelation, they immediately
think of things like theAntichrist and the number of the
beast 666, not being able tobuy or sell.
They think of judgments, wrath,war, armageddon, the millennial
(03:51):
kingdom, the rapture, and onand on.
But before we get there, afterthe first chapter, we have two
chapters where Jesus narratesseven letters to seven churches,
giving them both positive andnegative critiques and warnings.
This is followed by twochapters of a scene from God's
throne room in heaven, and thenin chapter six, all of the
(04:12):
action that we typicallyassociate with Revelation begins
.
Not only do we often avoidRevelation, but when people do
study it, they often ignorethose early chapters,
particularly the first threechapters, and we are obviously
not going to make that mistakehere.
Now, the last thing I want tomention before we dive in is in
regards to interpretation.
(04:33):
How do we go about interpretingRevelation?
Well, you know the saying thatwhere there are two preachers,
there are three opinions, andthat's not far from the truth.
Regarding Revelation, it'sprobably the most controversial
book in all of scripture, withmore and varying interpretations
than any other book.
Now, like I said, no other bookposes more challenges in
(04:56):
interpretation, but in general,there are four primary views on
how we should interpretRevelation, and within these
four approaches there arefurther variations of each and
there also exists some overlapbetween the four.
But basically, there are fourapproaches taken the Preterist
view, the Historicist view, theIdealist view and the Futurist
(05:19):
view.
Now, I'm not going to do afull-blown study in comparison
of each of these, as that wouldbe a full study in and of itself
, but I want you to at least beaware of each of these
approaches and to understandthat there's more than one way
in which people interpretRevelation, and so here is a
Reader's Digest version or ahigh-level flyby of each, just
(05:40):
so you know what each approachbelieves.
The Preterist view interpretsRevelation as a description of
first century events in theRoman Empire.
In other words, revelation isdescribing only events that
happened or were happeningduring the Roman persecution of
the Jews back in the firstcentury, and so they see the
events of Revelation as havingalready been fulfilled, and it
(06:03):
culminated in the destruction ofJerusalem.
The historicist view interpretsrevelation as being sort of a
panoramic view of church historyfrom the time of the apostles
up until present day, and sothey see in the symbolism
different eras such as theoverthrow of Rome by the
barbarians or the rise of theRoman Catholic Church, the
(06:24):
emergence of Islam and just therise and fall of civilizations.
The idealist view interpretsRevelation as just sort of this
timeless description of thebattle of good versus evil, and
the book is merely designed toteach us timeless spiritual
truths, but it's not to be readliterally.
And finally there's thefuturist view.
(06:46):
This view believes that theevents from chapter 6 through 22
are to happen at some point inthe future and that the events
described are actual, realevents.
Now some people also believethat Revelation is simply John
using all of these differentsymbols as communicating through
some code language that onlythe Jews would understand in
(07:08):
order to avoid persecution.
However, it's hard to believethat the Roman authorities
wouldn't recognize this sort ofanti-Roman perspective and,
furthermore, most of thesymbolism in Revelation is
explained in Revelation, so thatwouldn't make the best code
language.
But in reality, mostcommentators will take an
(07:29):
eclectic or mixed, this blended,approach to Revelation and, in
all transparency, that's theview that I personally hold as
well, because some of theelements of Revelation are
clearly future, such as thesecond coming and the
resurrection of the saints, someare in the past and some are
(07:51):
probably describing at least thebeginning stages or the buildup
of events we are witnessing inour present age.
Now, as we go along in thisstudy, I may refer to one or
more of these views and attemptto share the best arguments for
each of these views as well asthe best critique of each of the
views.
But I don't want to get boggedviews as well as the best
critique of each of the views,but I don't want to get bogged
down doing this on the front endof our study.
And so, with those introductorywords out of the way, let's jump
(08:13):
into the book of Revelationwith the first three verses,
which read the Revelation ofJesus Christ which God gave him
to show to his servants thethings that must soon take place
.
He made it known by sending hisangel to his servant, john, who
bore witness to the word of Godand to the testimony of Jesus
Christ, even to all that he saw.
Blessed is the one who readsaloud the words of this prophecy
(08:36):
, and blessed are those who hearand who keep what is written in
it, for the time is near.
So the book begins by statingthat this is a revelation of
Jesus Christ.
Now, that word revelation inthe Greek is actually the word
apocalypsis, which is where weget the word apocalypse, and
many people associate this termfor the end times or the
(08:58):
beginning of the end.
But it actually means theuncovering or unveiling of
something hidden, something oncehidden becoming visible, in
other words, a revealing, whichis where we get the name of the
book Revelation.
Now, although John will bephysically writing, this also
tells us who the ultimate authoris.
(09:18):
It's the revelation of JesusChrist which God gave to him.
The revelation comes from Godthrough Jesus Christ, who
communicates it to John throughan angel.
Now, verse 1 not only tells uswho are the ultimate authors,
but also the subject, which isto inform John what must soon
take place.
Now, just so you're aware, somepeople who hold a preterist view
(09:42):
will argue that since John saysthat these things must happen
soon, that it can't possiblyspeaking of events 2,000 years
in the future.
And so Revelation isn't talkingabout things that are future
for us, because it's been 2,000years now and it still hasn't
happened.
And so all of the eventsdescribed in Revelation are
(10:02):
describing the persecution ofthe Jews by the Romans and again
, ultimately, the destruction ofJerusalem in 70 AD.
However, the Greek word usedhere that is translated as soon
is the word takos, which meansspeed.
It's where we get our wordtachometer, which is what
measures RPMs in your vehicle.
(10:22):
And so critics of thatpreterist view would argue that
it doesn't mean that the eventsJohn is describing will
necessarily happen soon, butrather, once they begin to
happen, they will happen withspeed, they will unfold quickly,
and so this isn't referringnecessarily to soonness, but to
rapidity of execution once itbegins.
(10:43):
And I think maybe part ofunderstanding this is to
understand the nature ofprophecy itself.
First, we know that God'sperspective of time is not the
same as ours.
As 2 Peter tells us, you shouldremember the predictions of the
holy prophets and thecommandments of the Lord and
Savior through your apostles,knowing this first of all, that
scoffers will come in the lastdays, with scoffing following
(11:07):
their own sinful desires, theywill say where is the promise of
his coming?
But do not overlook this onefact beloved that with the Lord
one day is as a thousand yearsand a thousand years is one day.
But the day of the Lord willcome like a thief.
And just an observation howdoes a thief come?
Not necessarily chronologicallysoon, but suddenly,
(11:31):
unexpectedly quickly.
In verse 3, we see a specialblessing promised.
Revelation is the only book inthe Bible that promises a
special blessing to those whoread it, those who hear it and
those who keep or respond inobedience to what is written.
I mean that alone should beenough to gain your full
attention.
(11:51):
But we continue with verses 4through 8, which read John to
the seven churches that are inAsia grace to you and peace from
him who is and who was and whois to come and from the seven
spirits who are before histhrone, and from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness, thefirstborn.
So what we see in these versesis really a greeting from John
(12:27):
to the seven churches which werein Asia.
Now, when you hear Asia, don'tthink of the continent of Asia,
as in China, japan, india, southKorea.
Asia here is referring to theRoman province of Asia and what
we refer to as Asia Minor, whichis essentially modern-day
Turkey, and there were seven keycities there and it was to the
(12:48):
churches in these cities thatJohn is writing.
But John says to them Grace toyou and peace, which is
essentially the Greek equivalentof the Jewish expression shalom
, but grace and peace to youfrom who?
From him, who is and who wasand who is to come, which is
clearly God and hearkens back toGod, explaining to Moses that I
(13:12):
am, that I am the self-existentand eternal one whose name
simply implies being, but notonly from God, but also from the
seven spirits who are beforehis throne.
Now, the identity of theseseven spirits is not fully clear
.
Some believe and early Judaismthought in terms of seven
(13:32):
archangels before God's throne.
The problem with that view isthat Revelation never uses the
word spirits to refer to angels,and so for that reason most
commentators take the sevenspirits as referring to the
sevenfold spirit of God or theHoly Spirit.
Again, seven's the number ofcompleteness, so John is most
(13:53):
likely referring to the fullnessof the Holy Spirit.
And then, finally, grace andpeace, also from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness, thefirstborn of the dead.
And so John has now includedall three persons of the Trinity
God, the Father, the Son andHoly Spirit.
And right after, in the rest ofverse 5, john basically sums up
(14:16):
the gospel by saying to him wholoves us and has freed us from
our sins by his blood, to him beglory and dominion forever and
ever.
Amen.
I mean, that's basically ashort, one-sentence summation of
the gospel message.
But John continues in verses 7and 8, which read Amen, even
(14:39):
those who pierced him and alltribes of the earth will wail on
account of him.
Even so, amen, I am the Alphaand the Omega, says the Lord,
god who is and who was and whois to come, the Almighty.
I mean, we're getting thisseven verses into chapter one,
(15:00):
and this sounds like what weshould be ending the book of
Revelation with.
But this is only the end of thegreeting, john writes to the
seven churches.
But John says that he is comingwith the clouds and every eye
will see him.
This sounds a lot like the samesort of description the prophet
Daniel provided in chapter 7,where Daniel, speaking of the
Son of man, says and behold,with the clouds of heaven there
came one like a son of man, andhe came to the Ancient of Days
(15:24):
and was presented before him,and to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom that allpeoples, nations and languages
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlastingdominion which shall not pass
away, and his kingdom one thatshall not be destroyed.
But John also says that everyeye will see him, even those who
pierced him, and all the tribeson earth will wail on account
(15:47):
of him.
Now understand, when it sayspierced, here it's a reference
to Jesus' crucifixion.
I mean they pierced his handsand his feet.
(16:12):
In Psalm 22, we read so clearly.
This is an allusion to theexecution of Jesus.
But here we read that every eyewill see him, even those who
pierced him, and all the tribeson earth will wail on account of
him.
Now, when it says it's nottalking about the Roman soldiers
who actually nailed him to thecross, but most likely to the
(16:34):
Jewish leadership responsiblefor his execution.
And, as we just read above,even Zechariah identifies those
who pierced him as being thehouse of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem.
But John also says that alltribes of the earth will wail on
account of him.
Now Zechariah prophesied thatthe inhabitants of Jerusalem
will weep genuine tears ofrepentance for what they did to
(16:57):
their Messiah.
But there will also be amourning from the rest of the
inhabitants of the earth also bea mourning from the rest of the
inhabitants of the earth.
It may also be from a genuinerepentance, but will most likely
be from guilt of sin and fearof the coming punishment.
But what we see now as we wrapup verse 8, john has concluded
his introduction and greeting tothe seven churches and,
beginning in verse 9, hetransitions now to his actual
(17:21):
vision.
And we read in verses 9 through11, behind me a voice like a
trumpet saying write what yousee in a book and send it to the
(17:44):
seven churches, to Ephesus andto Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and
to Thyatira and to Sardis and toPhiladelphia and to Laodicea.
And so he begins by identifyinghimself as a brother and
partner in the tribulation inthe kingdom, john was a fellow
sufferer, along with thesechurches, for the gospel.
In fact, he says that he was onthe island on account of the
(18:07):
word of God and the testimony ofJesus.
In other words, john was on theisland of Patmos, exiled as
punishment by the state forpreaching the gospel.
Now Patmos was a rocky sort of amountainous, crescent-shaped
island, located about 30 milesoff the coast of Asia Minor,
which again is modern-day Turkey.
It's about eight miles long,about six miles wide.
(18:30):
But the Romans used this islandas a place of political
banishment.
Now, oftentimes people of alower social status were
executed or enslaved or banishedto the mines, mines or sent to
die in the gladiator games.
But rulers also used banishmentto an island to rid themselves
of influential troublemakerswithout having to kill them.
(18:52):
And so John had been banishedto the island of Patmos and
unless the government lifted thebanishment, those banished to
the island would remain thereuntil they died.
Early Christian tradition saysthat the Roman Emperor Domitian
sent John to Patmos and thatJohn was released after the
death of Domitian, who wasassassinated in AD 96.
(19:13):
But notice what John says.
He says I was in the Spirit onthe Lord's day Now.
When he says he was in theSpirit, this is most likely a
reference to the Holy Spirit andthe resulting Spirit-guided and
Spirit-empowered propheticinspiration.
And when he says on the Lord'sDay, he would have most likely
been referring to Sunday, whenearly Christians gathered to
(19:36):
commemorate the resurrection ofJesus on Sunday.
But it's interesting John isaware that it's Sunday and he is
in a spiritual way when hereceives this revelation from
God.
He was spiritually prepared andI wonder how often do we
potentially miss communicationfrom God because he's drowned
out in our lives by the loudnessand the busyness of this world?
(19:59):
And maybe we don't ever receivedeeper revelations from God
because we're so occupied by allthe noise in our lives?
Perhaps we would be wise tomore often follow the wisdom of
Psalm 46, 10, which says bestill and know that I am God.
But I can just about guaranteeyou that's something that won't
just happen by accident.
(20:19):
That'll have to be a consciousdecision on your part to make it
happen.
Because just an observationmany Christians spend time
talking to other Christiansabout God, but they don't spend
a lot of time actually talkingto God.
But John hears a voice behindhim say write what you see in a
book and send it to the sevenchurches, to Ephesus and Smyrna,
(20:41):
pergamum, and to Thyatira andto Sardis, to Philadelphia and
to Laodicea.
It's interesting John is toldto write down what he sees and
send it to the seven churches.
Daniel was told to shut up thevision that he had received, to
shut up the words and seal thebook even until the end of the
age.
But now John is told what Writedown what you see in a book and
(21:05):
send it to the seven churches.
At the end of the book, inRevelation 22, 10, he's again
told do not seal the sayings ofthe prophecy of this book, for
the time is at hand.
But these will be the sevenchurches in the seven cities.
John will write letters, ashe's told to do.
And one of the questions that'sasked is well, why these seven
(21:25):
churches?
Because we know that there weremore than seven churches in the
area at this time.
So why these seven?
I mean, what about the churchin Rome or Jerusalem, or Antioch
?
It's interesting too that sevenis the number of completeness,
and so some argue that theseseven churches were
representative of all thechurches in the world.
(21:46):
In fact, they argue that, ifyou look at the letters when we
get to them, that in order,these churches represent the
various eras of church historythroughout history.
But critics argue that, look,when you look at the order in
which the letters are written,it actually follows the path
that a messenger would take ifhe were in fact delivering those
(22:07):
letters.
In other words, the order ofthe letters follows the natural
path that you would travel todeliver the letters to each city
.
But, as we'll see, even ifthese letters don't portray the
history of the church throughoutthe ages, most churches
probably fall into one of thecategories that Jesus calls out,
but we'll dive more into thatover the next two chapters.
(22:28):
But John turns to see who isspeaking to him and we read,
midst of the lampstands, onelike a son of man, clothed with
a long robe and with a goldensash around his chest.
The hairs of his head werewhite like white wool, like snow
(22:51):
, his eyes were like a flame offire, his feet were like
burnished bronze, refined in afurnace, and his voice was like
a trumpet, which is probablyjust an expression of the
(23:15):
clarity of Jesus' voice.
But he turns and notices sevengolden lampstands.
Well, what in the world is themeaning of the lampstands?
Fortunately we don't have tospeculate, because in verse 20,
it tells us that the sevengolden lampstands are the seven
churches.
But in the midst of the sevenlampstands John saw one like the
(23:37):
Son of man.
Now, this expression Son of manharkens back to Daniel 7, 13
and his vision of God's agent.
But Son of man is also thetitle that Jesus used of himself
more than any other.
He used it of himself 81 timesin the Gospels.
But I think this image of Jesusamong the lampstands is an
(23:57):
important one.
Here Again, the lampstandsrepresent the seven churches and
there is God's presence amongthem.
In Exodus, the lampstand in thetabernacle had seven lamps made
to shine light in the holyplace, and now we see the
lampstand as a church living inGod's presence, and it's meant
(24:17):
to reflect both God's word anddeed to the world.
As believers, we are the churchand we're supposed to shine by
the power of the Holy Spirit,giving the message of Christ for
those people still living indarkness.
John says that he was clothedwith a long robe and with a
golden sash around his chest.
This would, of course, recallthe high priest and suggest that
(24:40):
Jesus is our high priest, butit also speaks of garments worn
by kings at the time, whichmakes sense because Jesus is our
king and our high priest.
But John continues with hisdescription of this vision of
Christ, saying the hairs of hishead were white like white wool,
like snow, and his eyes werelike flame of fire.
His feet were like burnishedbronze.
(25:02):
And we see here again that Johnuses a very similar description
as Daniel did in his visionback in Daniel 7-9, where Daniel
describes his vision of God,the ancient of days, with the
white hair, the emblem of ageand honor and possibly wisdom.
His eyes were like a flame offire.
His feet were like burnishedbronze, refined in a furnace,
(25:24):
and his voice was like the roarof many waters.
I mean, all of this imagerydepicts the radiance and
brilliance of Jesus, you know,and I wonder if this is similar
to how he looked to Peter, jamesand John on the Mount of
Transfiguration years earlier.
But look, the descriptions ofJesus here are not simply to
describe what he looked like butto declare his power.
(25:46):
I mean, he's the Lord of theuniverse, the one who has power
over life and death.
And John says in verse 16, inhis right hand he held seven
stars and from his mouth came asharp two-edged sword and his
face shining like the sun, makessense, based on what we just
covered.
But what are the seven stars heheld in his right hand all
(26:09):
about?
Again, we don't have tospeculate because we're told in
verse 20, they are the angels ofthe seven churches.
Okay, but what?
They are the angels of theseven churches, okay, but what
or who are the angels of theseven churches?
Now, this is much debated.
On one hand, there's the beliefthat the seven angels are
actually the human leaders ofthe church, such as pastors and
(26:29):
elders and so forth, and theybelieve this because, they argue
, look, angels are never leadersin the church.
But others disagree, arguingthat there are no instances in
the New Testament or inRevelation where the word angel
refers to a pastor or any humanleader, and so the more likely
interpretation is that theseangels refer to what we
(26:51):
typically mean when we refer toangels creatures who are
heavenly beings and play asignificant role in serving God.
And we know from other placesin scripture, like Matthew and
Acts and Daniel, that angelsserve in roles such as guarding
individuals and nations, and soperhaps the letters are
addressed to these angelsbecause they play a special role
(27:12):
in protecting the churches fromthe designs of Satan.
But John also says that from hismouth came a sharp, two-edged
sword.
Now, verse 20 doesn't explainthis one to us, but Hebrews 4.12
does, telling us that the wordof God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of
soul and spirit, of joints andof marrow, and discerning the
(27:36):
thoughts and intentions of theheart.
And so how does John react?
When he turned and he saw Jesus, the last four verses of the
chapter tell us.
And when I saw him, I fell athis feet as though dead.
But he laid his right hand onme saying Fear not, I am the
first and the last and theliving one.
I died and behold, I am thefirst and the last and the
living one.
I died and behold, I am aliveforevermore and I have the keys
(27:59):
of death and Hades.
So upon seeing this revelationof the glory of Jesus, what does
John do?
He falls at his feet, thoughdead.
This is the same reaction menhave had in other places in
scripture.
Other prophets had the samereaction when seeing even
angelic beings Ezekiel fell onhis face when shown even the
(28:20):
likeness of God's glory.
And Daniel, who stood up to andeven defied.
Nebuchadnezzar did the samewhen he saw the angel Gabriel.
Now, none of these men wereweak.
In fact, based on their lives,we see just the opposite, that
they were strong men, and so itshows us just how overwhelming
the presence of divinity is inreality.
(28:42):
I mean, it's one thing to talkabout what it's like and what
you think you'll do or say whenyou come face to face with God,
but it's an entirely differentthing when you actually come
face to face with ultimatereality.
And my guess is that we'll alldo exactly as these strong men
did.
We'll all fall on our face.
But if you notice in scripture,every time men fall on their
(29:05):
faces, what's the first thingthey're told?
Fear not, do not be afraid.
In fact, this is the mostrepeated phrase or command in
scripture Do not be afraid,which should provide us with
some comfort and reassurance.
However, notice who God saysthis to, or has his angels say
(29:25):
this to Good men, god-fearingmen or women, as was the case
with Mary and the angel Gabriel.
In other words, god isn'tcommunicating with evil men and
reassuring them by saying do notbe afraid, because they have
every reason to fear.
But after telling John to notbe afraid.
He continues by saying I am thefirst and the last and the
(29:47):
living one.
I died and behold, I am aliveforevermore.
So if you thought that maybethis message came from anyone
other than Jesus, then thatshould remove all doubt.
This verse involves Jesus'triumph over death and
identifies him as the first andthe last, the Alpha and Omega.
And so Jesus is opening hismessage by announcing his deity
(30:10):
and because he conquered death,because he's God.
He also says and I have thekeys of death and Hades.
Now, death and Hades aresometimes used as sort of
synonyms, but death is thecondition, hades is a location,
hades is a translation of theHebrew word Sheol and it refers
to the realm of the dead.
(30:30):
But when he says, I hold thekeys, keys signify authority,
because those who have keys areable to open and shut that which
is locked.
Even in ancient times, theperson who held the keys was an
important official positionbecause they were able to admit
or shut out people from thepresence of the king.
Now, death and Hades togetherrepresent death's power.
(30:53):
But it's important to remember,especially when you look around
the world today.
Jesus told Peter that I willbuild my church and the gates of
Hades will not prevail againstit.
Now we've basically alreadytackled the last two verses, but
for the sake of completeness,verses 19 and 20 read write,
therefore, the things that youhave seen, those that are and
(31:16):
those that, and so again, wealready discussed these verses
above, but I want to end thisfirst chapter by just briefly
(31:37):
reflecting on John, who may verywell be the last remaining
apostle.
All of the hardships he endured, seeing the death of all the
other disciples, the executionof several of them, now elderly
and sitting on the island ofPatmos, where he's been banished
, exiled.
And yet, even after all that heendured.
(31:58):
He was aware that it was theLord's day.
He was in a spiritual way, hewas spiritually ready, for when
God called, john wasn'tsurrounded by family and friends
, there were none of his fellowapostles at his side, he had no
home, and yet he endured.
And I wonder, can the same besaid, will it be said, of us
(32:21):
when we see Christianity erodingin America, when we witness the
increased persecution ofChristians even in America?
Will we, like John, endure tothe end, even in exile?
Even in exile, there's still apromise, there's still a song,
there's still a rock where myhelp comes from.
(32:43):
Hope is not lost, hope is notgone, even in exile, fire by
night, cloud by day, god of allheaven gonna lead my way, no
(33:04):
matter how long.
Still gonna pray night, even inexile.
I will see the goodness of theLord, even in exile.
I will see the goodness of theLord, even in exile.
Popular Podcasts
1. Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
2. Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
3. Crime Junkie
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.