What Makes Jesus Unique? No one else made the claims that He did, He is alive...............
All the great religious leaders of history have one thing in common: they are dead. Only one man has risen from a grave never again to taste death. Jesus Christ died, was buried, remained in the grave for 3 days, then was raised to life again.
Jesus is unique. He is the only one proven to be the Son of God because God validated His Kingship and accepted His payment for our sins all with one incredible stroke: He raised Jesus from the dead!
Paul opens his letter to the Romans with this evidence about who Jesus is:
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which He had promised before by His prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:1-4
Because Jesus Christ is very much alive, five things are true right now that wouldn’t be true if He were just another dead religious leader like Confucius, Mohammed or Buddha.
Because Jesus was raised from the dead and is alive…Prayers are answered, We can talk to Jesus 24/7
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Date:8/8/21
Series: Revelation
Passage: Revelation 3:7-13
Speaker: Jeff Thompson
Philadelphia is the church that every Christian should want to be identified with. In this study, we'll learn why Jesus loves this particular church so much, and how we too can bless Him by living the same way.
You know, it's amazing how long some things last, for example, the false rumor that the Book of Revelation is hard to understand, but chicanery says we for you see, the word revelation means that something has been revealed. And the first words of this book tell us exactly who it is that's being revealed. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. And God wanted us to read this book so much that he promised those who take the time to read and respond to it a special blessing.
And that blessing is found in Revelation three. It says Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near. But God knew they would still be. Those who would claim revelation is hard to understand. So to make this book easy to understand, he also included an easy to follow outline. And that's found in Revelation 119, where Jesus gives John these instructions.
Write the things which you have seen. And up to that point, John had seen the resurrected and glorified Jesus in Chapter One. Then Jesus tells John to also write the things which are that refer to the church age, which began in 32 A.D., continues to the present day and is prophesied in chapters two and three, which we are studying today. And then finally, Jesus tells John to write the things which will take place. After this, John is told to write about future events that will take place after the church age ends, and that third act begins in Revelation for one.
Let me read it to you. John says, After these things, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard, which was the voice of Jesus in Chapter One, was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. And despite appearing over 20 times in the first three chapters of Revelation, guess what word never again appears in the narrative after revelation.
For one, it's the word church, and we're going to learn. That's because the church will no longer be on the earth after revelation. For one, the church like John will go up. And when the church goes up, what comes down? The wrath of God. And we find that in Revelation six 16, where the time period known as the Tribulation begins. And we're told the response of those who are still on the earth at that time, they said to the mountains and rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne.
That's God, the Father. And from the wrath of the lamb, the lamb is who it's Jesus. It goes on in verse 17 of chapter six and says that the people will cry out for the great day of his wrath has come. And who is able to stand? We're going to travel through 2000 years of church history in chapters two and three. Then the church will go up in Revelation for one and Ralph will come down in chapter six, verse sixteen.
There will be seven years of tribulation continuing all the way up to Chapter nineteen when Jesus will return to the Earth with his church in the event known as the second coming. And there will be even more revealed later in our study through this incredible book. But here's what we know. If you love Jesus, then your story will end with the words and they lived happily ever after. Where in Revelation Chapter Three, studying the second act of the book, which Jesus described to John as the things which are today we will be studying the sixth of seven letters written by Jesus to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia.
Smyrna, the suffering church polygamists, the compromising church fire, Tirah, the Catholic Church, Sardis, and the Reformation Church, which began around 1400 A.D. And today we are studying the sixth church in Philadelphia. In our previous study, we learned that the church at Sardi's prophetically represented the time period of the Reformation and the emergence of the most famous mainline denominations. Jesus told them that while they had a name, an ornament in Greek, a famous history, a great church founder, and a rich heritage, they were in reality dead.
They had reached the point where they had moved away from the word of God and from his spirit for the most part, and so for the most part, his spirit had left the building. We've learned about two of the four churches that continue to exist to the present day fire, Tyrer, the Catholic Church, and Sardis, the Reformation or denominational church. Let's dig into the third church that exists up to the present day, Philadelphia. Philadelphia was a beautiful and prosperous city built on the hillside of Mount Tomalis on a main road between Rome and Troas in the province of Asia Minor.
It was founded in 189 B.C. by the king of polygamous humanists. The second, is his younger brother, a Tallis. The second traveled with him to establish the city. And you so appreciated this that he named many of the new buildings and roadways after his brother. In fact, they were so close that a coin was minted in Philadelphia that bore the image of Yemeni's, the second on one side and his brother Atlus on the other. When Yemeni's died, he left the city to his brother, who responded by naming even more roads and buildings after his beloved brother than his brother had named after him.
Their legendary relationship was the reason the city came to be known as Philadelphia Greek for the city of him, who loves his brother. The Romans used Philadelphia as a regional headquarters for the promotion of Hellenism, which is Greek culture, including the Greek language to the eastern part of the empire, which had been resistant to Hellenism. It was, for all intents and purposes, a cultural missionary city. Today, Philadelphia is in Turkey and is named Alasdair, which means the city of God in Arabic.
It's still a real city today. Looking at Philadelphia on the prophetic level, we reached the time in history when the effects of the Reformation had run out of momentum. Sardis, the great mainline Protestant denomination, was spiritually dead and we talked about that in our previous study. Philadelphia ushered in the next phase of church history, which began around 1793 A.D. And prophetically, this is your first fill in. We can call her the missionary church, the missionary church, and we'll discover that she will cease to exist after the rapture.
Why? Stay tuned. Jesus told his disciples to take the gospel into all the world. And if we're honest, the church has been wildly inconsistent over the centuries. At following Jesus's instructions, as we discussed in previous messages, the church was established around 32 A.D. but stayed huddled in Jerusalem until persecution radically intensified under Caesar Nero beginning around 54 A.D.. This forced the Jerusalem believers to scatter across the empire in 313 ad Constantine and, like Linnaeus, issued the edict of Millán, which officially ended the empire's persecution of Christians after around 250 years of persecution.
You see, Jesus is Holy in the sense that he is other, but he calls us to be holy in the sense that we are to be set apart, consecrated, and reserved exclusively for Him and His purposes. Our lives are to belong completely to Jesus. That's how we are to be holy. And that's how Jesus is encouraging this church. He's saying keep on living lives that are set apart for me. Keep on holding on to that which is true.
And then Jesus calls himself mysteriously he who has the key of David who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. The key of David is an Old Testament reference that we're not typically familiar with. It's from an obscure part of the Book of Isaiah, where a man named Aliah Kim is replacing a corrupt man named Shobna as governor, or we would say national treasurer of the Palace of King Ezekiel. If you read Isaiah 22 starting around verse 15, you'll find that even though it's talking about Likeme, it has a second layer, a Remez, a mysterious layer of application that is a messianic prophecy, meaning the text when it's speaking about a lie.
Kim is also speaking prophetically of Jesus as the king, Hezekiah sat and ruled from the literal throne of David. David was the second king in Israel's history and all the kings who came after him sat on his throne. It's a real object that is always referred to in scripture as the throne of David. The governor of the King's palace would be given an object called the key of David. It was a real physical object that symbolized incredible power. Some scholars describe it as a type of ring, while others describe it as a large object worn over the shoulder.
Either way, this key granted its bearer access to all the resources of the kingdom and the Treasury. Additionally, it gave one the authority to grant others access to the king. If you wanted to get to King Hezekiah, you had to go through Shobna and then later through like him. While that whole story is worth studying, because there's a lot there that we don't have time to touch on. All you really need to know for now is that the key of David represents access to the king and the king's resources.
Here's the bottom line. Make a note of this. The titles Jesus gives himself in this letter are intended to encourage believers to remain holy and focused on the truth of his word, knowing they will be rewarded by him, knowing they will be rewarded by him. Now, here's the commendation. Jesus writes for Philadelphia's report card. Verse 8 says, I know your works if you're living for Jesus. His knowing your works is a good thing because he turns our earthly works for him into eternal rewards that will be waiting for us in heaven.
Now, Jesus, the one who holds the keys to the kingdom when He. When something nobody can shut it, when He closes something, nobody can open it. That Jesus tells this church what He has done for them with those keys, He says, see, I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it for you, have a little strength and have kept my word and have not denied my name. Compared to most of the other seven churches, Philadelphia is receiving an exceptional commendation here from Jesus, don't miss the connection that Jesus is making here between their works and this open door.
It's because of the righteous works that he has opened this door for them.
I would encourage you to meditate on and study that principle further. Jesus says. I have set before you, the Philadelphia church, specifically an open door in First Corinthians nine 16. The Apostle Paul writes for a great and effective door has opened to me. And when you read the context around that verse, it's obvious that Paul is referring to an opportunity that had opened for him to take the gospel to a new region because of how the phrase an open door is used in the Bible in relation to Christians on the Earth.
Most scholars agree that it refers to an opportunity to do what you and I would call missionary work, taking the gospel to places and people that have not yet heard it. Now take a quick look ahead to the very last line of verse nine. Jesus says, To know that I have loved you, to know that I have loved you. Whatever this church is doing, Jesus loves it. He loves it. And he declares that nobody is going to be able to shut the door, that he is open for them.
And yet what we're seeing take place across the world right now seems to be the closing of that missionary door. It's increasingly difficult to send missionaries around the world as religious governments refuse to allow Christian missionaries to cross their borders and communist or secular countries put up open door closed doors. I'm sorry as well. We're seeing incredible indigenous moves of God in places like Iran, Ethiopia, and China. But the missionary door for the Philadelphia church seems to be in our time rapidly closing.
Jesus said, I've set before you an open door and no one can shut it. That means only Jesus can open or close this door. So what's going on? Well, before Jesus closes that door, he's going to open another door in Revelation for one. He's going to come back for his church and he's going to come soon. Jesus told them, for you have a little strength instead of strength. Some Bible translations more accurately use the word power.
It's the Greek word dunamis. And I know you've heard it. It's where we get our word dynamite from. What a wonderful compliment, though, to get from Jesus. He says you got a little bit of dynamite in you. Their church may have been small, but it was full of the Holy Spirit's power and Christians who loved each other held to the word of God and faithfully proclaimed the gospel prophetically. This seems to imply that at the time of the Rapture, a small minority of churches will hold to biblical standards of holiness and truth.
And then Jesus says, You've kept my word. This church places an emphasis on keeping God's word by obeying, honoring, and loving the scriptures. They keep the Bible central and they honor it as authoritative over their lives. So write that down. This is a commendation for them. They kept God's word. They kept his word. The New Testament lists the two identifying marks of a disciple of Christ. In other words, if you love God internally, these are the two external characteristics that will be evident in your life.
When Jesus was praying to his Father for his disciples, he said, I have manifested your name to the men whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word. And then in John thirteen thirty-five, Jesus famously said, By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have a love for one another.
Even during the two world wars, the whole world was not affected. There were tribes in jungles that had no idea anything was going on. Jesus uses that phrase very specifically because he wants us to understand that this coming hour of trial is going to be unlike anything the world has ever seen before. Suffice it to say, Jesus cannot be referring to events that have already taken place in history because nothing, like he's describing, has ever taken place in history. Make a note of this.
Jesus promises to keep them from the tribulation. He promises to keep them from the tribulation. You might recall Paul reassuring the Thessalonians believers by telling them this, but you brethren are not in darkness so this day should overtake you as a thief. Believers are supposed to recognize the hour when these events are about to unfold. Then just a few verses later, Paul reminds them, for God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, the world is going to enter into the tribulation.
However, the church believers are not. If you're a believer, you will never experience the wrath of God in that good news. So what criticism does Jesus have for the Philadelphia church? Write this down. None. None. No criticism, they're keeping his word and sharing the gospel, and because they're doing that, Jesus has nothing critical to say, just as he had nothing critical to say about Smyrna, the church that was dying for him. So so this is important.
Jesus has no criticism for the church that is suffering for him or the church that is proclaiming him. As far as an exhortation goes, Jesus says this in verses and behold, I am coming quickly, underline that I am coming quickly, and then underline these two words. Hold fast to what you have so that no one may take your crown. Just a quick reminder, Crown speaks of rewards, not salvation. The believer's salvation is a settled, finished issue among the seven letters crowns are only mentioned here and in the letter to Smyrna, the only two churches that, as we said, also received no criticism from Jesus.
Look at verse 11 again. When do we receive our crown? The text clearly implies that believers have their crown now because no one can take something from them that's not already in their possession. That means even though believers may not know it or may not be able to sense it, many are walking around with crowns already. Jesus is already handing them out, and I can't help wondering how differently we would view each other and our sufferings if we could see those crowns right now.
Our future with Jesus is so certain, its future history, it's as certain as the events of yesterday that have already happened, we're already there, but not yet. This glorious, yet hard-to-fathom reality is what Paul was speaking of when he told us that we've been seeded with Christ in heavenly places, present tense. Write this down. The exhortation is holding fast, hold fast. Jesus says you're doing great. Keep going. Don't let anyone take the crown I've already placed upon your head.
You see, Jesus is Holy in the sense that he is other, but he calls us to be Holy in the sense that we are to be set apart, consecrated, and reserved exclusively for Him and His purposes. Our lives are to belong completely to Jesus. That's how we are to be Holy. And that's how Jesus is encouraging this church. He's saying keep on living lives that are set apart for Me. Keep on holding on to that which is true.
And then Jesus calls himself mysteriously he who has the key of David who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. The key of David is an Old Testament reference that we're not typically familiar with. It's from an obscure part of the Book of Isaiah, where a man named Aliah Kim is replacing a corrupt man named Shobna as governor, or we would say national treasurer of the Palace of King Ezekiel. If you read Isaiah 22 starting around verse 15, you'll find that even though it's talking about Likeme, it has a second layer, a Remez, a mysterious layer of application that is a messianic prophecy, meaning the text when it's speaking about a lie.
Kim is also speaking prophetically of Jesus as the king, Hezekiah sat and ruled from the literal throne of David. David was the second king in Israel's history and all the kings who came after him sat on his throne. It's a real object that is always referred to in scripture as the throne of David. The governor of the King's palace would be given an object called the Key of David. It was a real physical object that symbolized incredible power. Some scholars describe it as a type of ring, while others describe it as a large object worn over the shoulder.
Either way, this key granted its bearer access to all the resources of the kingdom and the Treasury. Additionally, it gave one the authority to grant others access to the king. If you wanted to get to King Hezekiah, you had to go through Shobna and then later through like him. While that whole story is worth studying because there's a lot there that we don't have time to touch on. All you really need to know for now is that the key of David represents access to the king and the king's resources.
Here's the bottom line. Make a note of this. The titles Jesus gives himself in this letter are intended to encourage believers to remain Holy and focused on the truth of His word, knowing they will be rewarded by him, knowing they will be rewarded by Him. Now, here's the commendation. Jesus writes for Philadelphia's report card. Verse 8 says, I know your works if you're living for Jesus. His knowing your works is a good thing because he turns our earthly works for Him into eternal rewards that will be waiting for us in heaven.
Now, Jesus, the one who holds the keys to the kingdom. When something nobody can shut it, when He closes something, nobody can open it. That Jesus tells this church what He has done for them with those keys, he says, see, I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it for you, have a little strength and have kept my word and have not denied my name. Compared to most of the other seven churches, Philadelphia is receiving an exceptional commendation here from Jesus, don't miss the connection that Jesus is making here between their works and this open door.
It's because of the righteous works that He has opened this door for them.
I would encourage you to meditate on and study that principle further. Jesus says. I have set before you, before you the Philadelphia church, specifically an open door in First Corinthians nine 16. The Apostle Paul writes for a great and effective door has opened to me. And when you read the context around that verse, it's obvious that Paul is referring to an opportunity that had opened for him to take the gospel to a new region because of how the phrase an open door is used in the Bible in relation to Christians on the Earth.
Most scholars agree that it refers to an opportunity to do what you and I would call missionary work, taking the gospel to places and people that have not yet heard it. Now take a quick look ahead to the very last line of verse nine. Jesus says, To know that I have loved you, to know that I have loved you. Whatever this church is doing, Jesus loves it. He loves it. And he declares that nobody is going to be able to shut the door, that he is open for them.
And yet what we're seeing take place across the world right now seems to be the closing of that missionary door. It's increasingly difficult to send missionaries around the world as religious governments refuse to allow Christian missionaries to cross their borders and communist or secular countries put up closed doors. I'm sorry as well. We're seeing incredible indigenous moves of God in places like Iran, Ethiopia and China. But the missionary door for the Philadelphia church seems to be in our time rapidly closing.
Jesus said, I've set before you an open door and no one can shut it. That means only Jesus can open or close this door. So what's going on? Well, before Jesus closes that door, he's going to open another door in Revelation for one. He's going to come back for his church and he's going to come soon. Jesus told them, for you have a little strength instead of strength. Some Bible translations more accurately use the word power.
It's the Greek word dunamis. And I know you've heard it. It's where we get our word dynamite from. What a wonderful compliment, though, to get from Jesus. He says you got a little bit of dynamite in you. Their church may have been small, but it was full of the Holy Spirit's power, and Christians who loved each other held to the word of God and faithfully proclaimed the gospel prophetically. This seems to imply that at the time of the Rapture, a small minority of churches will hold to Biblical standards of Holiness and truth.
And then Jesus says, You've kept my word. This church places an emphasis on keeping God's word by obeying, honoring, and loving the scriptures. They keep the Bible central and they honor it as authoritative over their lives. So write that down. This is a commendation for them. They kept God's word. They kept His word. The New Testament lists the two identifying marks of a disciple of Christ. In other words, if you love God internally, these are the two external characteristics that will be evident in your life.
Don't let anyone distract you from the rewards that you've already accumulated in heaven. That's encouraging because it reminds me that I want to keep living in light of the ultimate reality of eternity. I want to add to my treasures in heaven. Jesus wants Philadelphia to know that He is coming quickly. I had to underline that in the original Greek the word quickly Toku means suddenly or soon when Jesus comes for His church, He will come suddenly. But He also tells us here that He will come soon.
Now this is the key. He will come soon relative to this church, his position in church history, we might not feel like it soon, but in terms of world history, Jesus is coming very soon. Get this, the first letter was addressed to Ephesus, and Jesus didn't say anything about coming back for his church. All he said was, come back to your first love me. The second letter went to Smyrna. Jesus said, you're going to go through intense suffering and you need to be faithful to death.
But there was no mention of him coming back. Then came Pergament, the unacceptable marriage church, and Jesus didn't talk to them about his coming either. And then suddenly something changed. We came to the church at five Tirah. The church focused on the woman who had brought all kinds of paganism into the church. And Jesus warns the people in that church who have bought into all that paganism that they will go into great tribulation, more specifically the tribulation of those in that church who have bought into that paganism.
Jesus says, hold fast what you have till I come. If Jesus is telling someone in this church to hold fast until he comes, then this church must exist until he comes. And if some in this church will go into the tribulation, then this church will also have to exist until the tribulation. Out of that church came the next church in history, Sardis, the Reformation or denominational church, they receive both good and bad news and Jesus also talks to them about his coming.
He says you will not know what our eye will come upon. We talked about that in our previous study. Although this church reformed many things, they never reformed their eschatology, their end times theology using his own language from the Olivet Discourse and Paul's. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Jesus warns the Guardians that most in their church are not ready for his coming because they're not saved. This means the church at Sardis must exist when Jesus comes for his church.
Date:8/15/21
Series: Revelation
Passage: Revelation 3:14-22
Speaker: Jeff Thompson
In His most scathing assessment, Jesus writes to the church that will define the last days. The fact that we are living in the age of this church means we need to pay especially close attention to these serious warnings.
I read a fascinating news story this week about a man who mailed Google's billing department invoices from his fictional company to the tune of millions of dollars. The company wasn't real and neither were the services that he claimed to have provided. And here's the crazy part. Google paid him their billing department is so big and deals with so many invoices, they simply just pay them all as they're coming in. But after a few years, someone caught on to this and the man was arrested for fraud.
And fraud, of course, is the crime of making false claims, making claims that are not true, like the claim that the Book of Revelation is hard to understand. But lies, lies, terrible lies, say we. For you see, the word revelation means something has been revealed. And the first words of this book tell us exactly who it is that's being revealed. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ and God wanted us to read this book so much that he promised the man or woman who would take the time to read and respond to it a special blessing.
And that blessing is found in Revelation three. Let's claim it together. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near. But God knew they would still be. Those who would say revelation is hard to understand. So to make this book easy to understand, he also included an easy to follow outline.
And that's found in Revelation 119, where Jesus gives John these instructions.
Write the things which you have seen. That's the resurrected and resurrected and glorify Jesus in Chapter One. Then John is told to write the things which are that refer to the church age, which began in 32 A.D. and continues to the present day and is prophesied in chapters two and three were will be studying today. And then finally, John is told to write the things which will take place after this, things that will take place after the church age ends and those future events make up the third act of revelation, which begins in Revelation for one.
Let me read that verse to you. After these things, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was the voice of Jesus in Chapter One was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. And from that moment on, despite appearing over 20 times in the first three chapters of Revelation, what word will never again appear in the narrative after Revelation? For one, it's the word church and we're going to learn. And that's because the church will no longer be on the earth after revelation.
For one, the church like John is going to go up. And when the church goes up, what comes down? The wrath of God. And we find that in Revelation 616, where the time period known as the Tribulation begins and we're told the response of those who are on the Earth at that time, we read, they said to the mountains and rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne. That's God, the father.
And from the wrath of the lamb and the lamb, of course, is who it's Jesus will travel through 2000 years of church history, and in chapters two and three, the church will go up in four. In verse one, Rath will come down in chapter six, verse sixteen. There will be seven years of tribulation that will take us all the way up to Chapter nineteen, at which time Jesus will return to the Earth with his church in the second coming.
It's a father's job to be a father, and it's a shepherd's job to be a shepherd. But the layout of the sea and church doesn't want to shepherd. They want a positive thinking life coach.
How did the church end up here in this latest carnage? Well, around 1920, which, as we said, is in the Philadelphia church age, which we still are today because they overlap, some within the church began to embrace what's called higher criticism.
Higher criticism is a school of thought that's been around for centuries but only began to enter mainstream Christianity in the late 19th, early 20th centuries.
It holds a very low view of scripture, which I'll explain in a moment, and is generally not confessional. That means it's a school of thought that rejects both most Orthodox Christian beliefs, like the five fundamentals of the faith that we talked about last time berthed in Germany.
Higher criticism was the result of liberal scholars and theologians like Rudolf called Bultman, embracing the work of Enlightenment and rationalist thinkers such as John Locke, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Gotthold, Lessing, Gotlieb, Fichter, GWC Hegel, and the French rationalists. It promoted ideas like Norn Mosaic which means not written by Moses, a nonmosaic authorship of the Torah multiple. Isiah's being responsible for the book that bears his name, a nonliteral interpretation of the Bible's miracles.
In other words, viewing them as being symbolic or metaphoric and many other unorthodox beliefs regarding the Scriptures. Higher criticism was basically secular humanist philosophy, infiltrating Christian institutions of thought.
Higher criticism quickly spread across Europe to England and then across the Atlantic to America and Canada.
And its modernism came to cultural prominence. In the 1930s, seminaries, Bible colleges, and churches became caught up in this seemingly enlightened cultural movement. Modernism believed that there were better ways of doing practically everything, but they could only be discovered by challenging and shedding traditional paradigms, conventions and expectations that had been established in culture.
This shift is embodied in the differences we see between modern art and the works of Renaissance artists.
Modern art was all about fleeing the literalism of the past and instead embracing the abstract and the unconventional modernist philosophy explained that well, because art and beauty are subjective and relative concepts, then art can be whatever its creators consider it to be.
There's a whole new world of art to be discovered, but we have to do away with the old paradigms.
First, the modern, enlightened man or woman was to question everything and spur societal progress by helping to break down conventional ways of thinking about the arts, architecture, philosophy, and, yes, even theology and religion. Modernism took hold in the 1940s, rose to popularity in the 50s and drove the countercultural movement in the 60s.
And they've instead embraced ideas like pluralism, which rejects the truth of John fourteen six and teaches many different paths to God in the lay.
Honestly, in the church of our time, I believe this refers to the church that doesn't want to talk about things like the cross, the blood of Jesus, and the fact that Jesus died for us because the sacrifice of Jesus innately demands as the hymnals to Isaac Watts wrote; My soul, my life, my all leotta, seasons have no interest in a gospel that may have a personal cost. But Jesus was always very upfront about the cost of following Him, openly teaching things like whoever desires to save his life will lose it.
But whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospels will save it.
We can only receive salvation because Jesus gave His life for us. And as we receive His gift of eternal life, we relinquish ownership of our lives.
Jesus comes into our lives as king. We get off the throne and ask Him to take it because the Bible tells us we were bought at a price. And as Jesus directs our lives through His Spirit, He leads us and calls us to live as He did, which sometimes leads us to be treated as He was. Unsurprisingly, not everyone wants to hear that kind of talk. That's why we don't see the verse in Second Timothy 312 on coffee mugs or bumper stickers.
It says All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
It's not a fun verse, but apparently, the layout of seasons needs to be reminded of all this, perhaps because subjects like martyrdom, suffering, and sacrifice are hard to fit in when all your preaching is earthly victory, prosperity, abundance, and positivity. You can't talk about the cross without talking about sin and you can't talk about sin without talking about a standard of truth and righteousness which we fail to meet, and that can seem judgmental to some.
The conviction of the gospel can make people feel bad and realize they desperately need saving. So wouldn't it be better if we just talked about five reasons God loves you just the way you are? I can sense some of you yelling at me, Jeff, the horse is dead, you can stop beating it. Now, I'm belaboring this point because I do not want you to miss that right now. We are living in a time when many churches view things like the cross and the death of Jesus and the blood of Jesus, as barriers that need to be edited out of our message because they stop people from coming to church or feeling comfortable in church while still claiming to believe in such doctrines.
Most pastors know that talking about the sacrifice of any kind is a great way to shrink your church.
It's not uncommon for those who call their congregants to serve a church once or twice a month to be met with responses like, oh, you know, that this is way too much commitment for me right now. Three hours on a Sunday when I'm already going to church once a month. It's too much commitment for me.
And yet when those same congregants hear their child sports coaches say games are on weekends, there will be two practices per week. And whatever else I feel is needed, they'll nod their head and respond, hey, listen, it makes sense. Seems reasonable. People got to understand there's a commitment involved here. In our First World churches, a regular church attender is defined as someone who attends once every six weeks.
When Christians learn about trusting the Lord with their finances, they're often shocked and sometimes accuse the church of being out to steal their money.
And yet those same Christians can be found signing up for credit cards with an 18 percent interest rate or worse because it seems like a good deal and that credit card will then be used to purchase things they can't really afford with no real plan of how they're going to pay it off. In many cities, Christians church shop, they look for a church that makes them feel good in a musical style, they like has a children's ministry with that wow factor the recreational programs they want, and checks everything else on the wish list.
Many won't even consider questions like, does this church teach the Bible? Which church do you want me to join? Jesus. What needs could I help meet at this church to these LEOTTA scenes who aren't thinking service but rather serve us? Jesus says, remember, I didn't come to be served, I came to serve and to give My life as a ransom for many. But they ought to see it doesn't want to hear it. Thirdly, this church needs to be reminded that Jesus is the beginning of the creation of God, the origin of the creation of God.
Write this down. He's the Creator. As I just said, that's the literal translation. He is the origin of the creation of God. Around 96 A.D., Laticia had likely bought into a heretical Gnostic teaching that Jesus was a created being, a teaching that thrives in many cults to this day.
Paul had to set the Colossians straight on this issue, too. And so he stated the truth as plainly as possible for by him, by Jesus, all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him, and He is before all things. And in Him, all things consist. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, John felt this issue was so important that his gospel opens with these three verses, referring here to Jesus by the title of the word; "In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God".
He was at the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made.
Despite the miraculous events surrounding His birth, Mary still did not fully grasp her firstborn Son’s true purpose. Matthew 12:46–48, the next mention of Mary after the wedding in Cana, recounts an incident when she and Jesus’ brothers summoned Him as He was preaching. His response to their interruption indicates that He understood that even those closest to Him did not yet understand or believe in Him as Israel’s Messiah. In John 7:2–5, Jesus’ brothers tried again to dissuade Him from what God had sent Him to do. This may also indicate that Mary continued to be confused about His role in coming to earth.
We see Mary again at the crucifixion in John 19:25–27. She watched her holy Son be tortured and crucified. From the cross, Jesus turned to His disciple John and asked him to take care of His mother from then on. So we know that John took Mary into his own home. Jesus’ choice of John to care for Mary may have been due to the fact that Jesus knew His own brothers were not yet believers and He wanted His mother to be with someone who believed in Him.
Acts 1:14 finds Mary among the disciples in the upper room after Jesus’ ascension into heaven. She was among the one hundred twenty (Acts 1:15) who were baptized in the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4). It may have been only after her Son’s resurrection that Mary truly believed, as did some of her other children (Galatians 1:19). Her presence at Pentecost is the Bible’s last reference to Mary.
Since Scripture is silent about what happened to Mary after Pentecost, we have only tradition and legend to tell us what became of her. Many scholars speculate that Mary lived out her years in John’s home, either in Jerusalem or in Ephesus. Some have suggested that, since it is believed that John oversaw many of the churches in Asia Minor, Mary moved to Ephesus with him and was part of the Ephesian church where young Timothy pastored (1 Timothy 1:3), but we cannot know for certain. What we do know is that, although Mary was chosen by God for a unique assignment, she had to receive salvation by faith in her Son just as we all do (Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:8–9; Acts 4:12). Mary is now in heaven with all the believers who have died in Christ, not because she gave birth to Jesus but because she trusted in His shed blood as payment for her sin (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10; 2 Timothy 2:11).
Speaker: Jeff Thompson ........THE RAPTURE
Speaking of the doctrine of the Rapture, the late Chuck Missler said, “It’s the most preposterous doctrine in all of Christianity. The only thing it’s got going for it is that it’s unquestionably true.” In this message, we'll take a look at the Rapture's place in the Book of Revelation and what the rest of Scripture says about it.
Some people say they want to understand the book of Revelation, but they just can't because it's too hard to understand. And to them we say, Well, apparently you can't handle the truth because the word revelation means that something has been revealed. And the first words of this book tell us exactly who it is that's being revealed. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. And God wanted us to read this book so much that he promised anyone who would take the time to read and respond to it a special blessing.
And that's found in Revelation, chapter one, verses three. Let's claim it together. Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near. But God knew there would still be those who would claim revelation is hard to understand. So to make it easy to understand, he also included in it its own easy to follow outline.
And that's found in Revelation 119, where Jesus gives John these instructions, right, the things which you have seen that was the resurrected and glorified Jesus in chapter one. The things which are that pertains to the Church age, which began around 32 Ad, continues to the present day and is prophesied in chapter two and three. And then lastly, the things which will take place after this. John is told to write about future events that will take place after the Church age ends. And those future events make up the third act of Revelation and begin in chapter four, verses one, which we will be studying today.
Let me read it to you. After these things, I looked, and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard that was the voice of Jesus in chapter one was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this. And up John goes, serving as a picture of the Church which will be taken up to be with the Lord. And when the Church goes up, what comes down the wrath of God.
We find that in Revelation 616, where the period known as the Tribulation begins. And we're told the response of those who are still on the Earth at that time, they said to the mountains and rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, that's God the Father. And from the wrath of the Lamb. And in the Bible, the Lamb is who you know. It's Jesus.
And there will be even more revealed later in our study through this incredible book. But here's what we know, if you love Jesus, then your story ends with the words and they lived happily ever after. I trust that you were blessed by our study through the seven letters Jesus wrote to the seven Churches in chapters two and three. I want to ask you to take a moment and reflect specifically on the prophetic nature of those seven letters and the way in which they perfectly lay out roughly two thousand years of Church history.
When you see the historical parallels and specific details in each letter, and when you realize that the prophetic pattern wouldn't work if the letters were in any other order, I believe you're left with only two options.
The letters are indeed prophetic, or it's a coincidence of preposterous proportions. And the more I study Bible prophecy, the more convinced I am that God's Word does not deal in coincidences. That's why I want to challenge you to reach a conclusion regarding the data. If you don't believe in the prophetic application of the letters, then you are obligated to provide a reasonable alternative explanation. You cannot simply say I don't buy it.
That's not a valid argument or a productive way to study the Bible. If you're not quite there yet, perhaps I can provide some comfort in the form of an alternative approach. We should all be open to changing our opinion on Scripture. If we're not, it means there's no room to grow. I hope I have some different opinions 10, 20, 30 years from now if the Lord carries them because I hope to grow in my understanding of God's Word.
So let me suggest this approach. Believe in the prophetic application of the seven Letters unless you find a better, better explanation for the evidence. In fact, that's going to be my request all the way through our study of the Book of Revelation, believe the best explanation considering common sense and the whole Council of Scripture. I genuinely believe that by the end of our time together, you're going to see there's no other approach to Revelation that better interprets the information in a way that fits with everything the Bible says about the end times, and that's really the key.
It's easy to pluck out verses from here and there and use them out of context.
If Revelation is, for the most part, a chronological account of the end times, which is what chapters two and three seem to tell us what happens next in the chronology of end times events? The answer, The Rapture of the Church.
The late Chuck Missler, one of my favorite Bible teachers, said this about the Rapture. It's the most preposterous doctrine in all of Christianity. The only thing it's got going for it is that it's unquestionably true. So what is the Rapture? It's the term used for a specific future worldwide event in which Jesus calls his Church to meet him in the clouds.
As the Apostle Paul said, the moment Jesus issues that call every believer alive on the Earth will instantaneously and simultaneously disappear from the Earth and find themselves in the presence of Jesus. If this is the first time you're hearing this, then you're probably immediately recognizing why most churches don't talk about this a whole lot. If you've got some first time guests checking out your Church, they might think they've accidentally hopped on board the train to Crazy Town and look to make a quick exit. But before you seek to join them, remember that this is God.
We're talking about the same God who created the universe, ex nihilo out of nothing.
And if He's powerful enough to create the universe exactly the way He wanted to, then He's obviously powerful enough to end the universe exactly the way He wants to. No option is off the table for Him. He's free to do whatever He wants, and He can do whatever He wants. So let's see what His word says before we jump to any conclusions.
Revelation, Chapter Four, Would you turn there in your Bibles?
And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me saying, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place. After this, would you underline that phrase, Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place, and then underline after this, verses two, John says, Immediately, I was in the Spirit, and behold a throne set, and then underline in heaven, and one sat on the throne. If you've been with us through our study of Revelation thus far, then you know that one of the reasons verses one here is significant is because it harkens back to chapter one, verse 19, where, as we mentioned in the intro, Jesus tells John to write about three distinct subjects, and the third subject is the things which will take place after this.
Here in Revelation four, Jesus calls John to join him in heaven so that he can show him things that must take place after this. It's the same phrase in the original Greek in Revelation 119 and in Revelation Four, meta Tata.
In fact, it's the very next place in the book. That phrase shows up after Revelation 119. Jesus made it as easy as possible to connect Revelation 119 to Revelation Four. All you have to do is look for the next place. That key phrase, meta Tata shows up.
So if you haven't done it yet, you might want to write chapter four, verse one in your Bible next to Revelation 119, because those two verses are linked. The Holy Spirit does this because He does not want us to miss that this is a dividing line in the narrative. This is where the Church age ends and something else begins. The scene shifts dramatically, symbolically. John the Apostle is us, the believer, the Church.
And as the Church age comes to a close, the believer sees a door standing open in heaven. And here's a voice like a trumpet, speaking to him, what voice would that be? Well, back in Revelation chapter one, verses ten through eleven, John wrote, I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet. So again, if you want to go to Revelation 110, you might want to write again. Chapter four, verses one above that phrase, as of a trumpet saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega the first and the last.
And we learned that that voice obviously belongs to Jesus. So John, representing the believer here, is once again hearing Jesus speak to him. Jesus calls to John the believer and says, Come up here. Jesus doesn't say, you stay there, John. I'm coming down to you.
After the end of the Church age, which was prophesied in chapters two and three, and after the Rapture which takes place in chapter four, verse one, I want to make sure we understand that Jesus is telling John that there are things he has ordained to take place only after the believer has been removed from the Earth, and only after the Church age has ended and the Church has been brought up here. In Acts chapter two, Pentecost begins the Church age. In Revelation chapter four, verse one, the Rapture ends the Church age.
Write this down at the end of the Church age. Before the tribulation begins, the Church is called up to heaven by Jesus.
I'll say it again at the end of the Church age. Before the tribulation begins, the Church is called up to heaven by Jesus, and then take a look at verse two. John says, immediately, I was in the Spirit underline all of that. Immediately I was in the Spirit, as opposed to what? Well, as opposed to being in an earthly body on Earth faster than the blink of an eye, John says, immediately, John is in a different type of body and a different type of dimension.
Jesus calls the believer up, and the believer is instantly in the Spirit. There's been a change of body and a change of location. Every believer who leaves the Earth in the Rapture or through physical death will arrive in the presence of Jesus in a new resurrected body. The theological term for this is being translated, and I like that because our earthly bodies don't speak the language of heaven. They're infected with sin and sickness and brokenness, and they can't withstand the glory that we're going to encounter in the presence of the Lord.
Simply, our bodies will need a translation. And the good news is that your resurrected body will be perfect. When Jesus rose from the dead, he rose in his resurrected body. Was it a physical body? Absolutely.
The disciples and hundreds of other people saw him and touched him. Thomas felt the wounds in Jesus' hands inside. Jesus even ate food to show to the disciples that he was not a ghost and had a physical body. But his body was more than physical as we define it. We are three dimensional beings that generally interact with a three dimensional world.
And while we don't know how many dimensions Jesus resurrected body exists in, we do know that it's more than three, because after his resurrection, he passes in and out of our three dimensional world, seemingly no longer constrained by the laws of physics as we understand them, and we're going to receive bodies just like that. John gives us further glorious insight in his first epistle. When he writes this, It's on your outlines. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God.
Alistair Begg
Jesus said: “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). Now, I don’t want to bring cold coals to Newcastle by giving you information with which you are already familiar, so let me just briefly give some background on this verse. You know that the Greek word translated here as “Helper” is parakletos. In its technical form, it has a legal dimension; it refers to one who would be an advocate. In its wider context, it speaks of comfort, of protection, of counsel, and of guidance. Jesus also spoke of the Spirit as the Helper in John 14 and introduced Him as “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17; 16:13).
1. The Holy Spirit is a unique person.
First, we need to notice that the Holy Spirit is a unique person and not simply a power or an influence. He is spoken of as “He,” not as “it.” This is a matter of import because if you listen carefully to people speaking, even within your own congregations you may hear the Holy Spirit referenced in terms of the neuter. You may even catch yourself doing it. If you do, I hope you will bite your tongue immediately. We have to understand that the Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity, is personal. As a person, He may be grieved (Eph. 4:30), He may be quenched in terms of the exercise of His will (1 Thess. 5:19), and He may be resisted (Acts 7:51).
2. The Holy Spirit is one both with the Father and with the Son.
Second, the Holy Spirit is one both with the Father and with the Son. In theological terms, we say that He is both co-equal and co-eternal. When we read the whole Upper Room Discourse, we discover that it was both the Father and the Son who would send the Spirit (John 14:16; 16:7), and the Spirit came and acted, as it were, for both of Them.
3. The Holy Spirit was the agent of creation.
Third, the Holy Spirit was the agent of creation. In the account of creation at the very beginning of the Bible, we are told: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:1–2). The Hebrew word translated as “Spirit” here is ruach, which also can mean “breath.” The ruach elohim, “the Breath of the Almighty,” is the agent in creation. It is not the immateriality of the Spirit that is in view here, but rather His power and energy; the picture is of God’s energy breathing out creation, as it were, speaking the worlds into existence, putting the stars into space. Thus, when we read Isaiah 40:26 and the question is asked, “Who created these?” we have the answer in Genesis 1:2—the Spirit is the irresistible power by which God accomplishes His purpose.
Fourth, the Holy Spirit is the agent not only of creation, but also of God’s new creation in Christ. He is the author of the new birth. We see this in John 3, in the classic encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus, where Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). This truth, of course, is worked out in the rest of the Scriptures.
5. The Spirit is the author of the Scriptures.
Fifth, the Spirit is the author of the Scriptures. Second Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is breathed out by God.” The Greek word behind this phrase is theopneustos, which means “God-breathed.” In creation, we have the Spirit breathing His energy, releasing the power of God in the act of creation. We have the same thing in the act of redemption, and we see it again in the divine act of giving to us the record in the Scriptures themselves. The doctrine of inspiration is entirely related to the work of God the Holy Spirit. Peter affirms this view, writing, “No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). The men who wrote the biblical books were not inventing things. Neither were they automatons. They were real people in real historical times with real DNA writing according to their historical settings and their personalities. But the authorship of Scripture was dual. It was, for instance, both Jeremiah and God, because Jeremiah was picked up and carried along. Indeed, in Jeremiah’s case, God said, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth” (Jer. 1:9). He did so without violating Jeremiah’s distinct personality, and he then wrote the very Word of God. This is why we study the Bible—because this is a book that exists as a result of the out-breathing of the Holy Spirit.
The believer will receive a new body. The believer will receive a new body. Let's get back to John and our revelation text. Because he's now in a resurrected body. He's in a spiritual dimension.
And check out what he sees when he looks around. In verse two, he says, and behold a throne set. And then underline where in heaven and one sat on the throne. The Holy Spirit wants to be Crystal clear that John. Is he in heaven at this point?
Are you catching that? Beholding the glory of the Lord. John saw a door open in heaven. He heard the voice of Jesus call him up. He was translated into a resurrected body and is now in heaven before the throne of God.
John has been Rapture. Now let's unpack some more of what the Bible says about the Rapture. Firstly, you need to know that Jesus himself promised it to us. Take a look at John 14, verses one to three. On your outlines, they record these words of Jesus to his disciples.
Let not your heart be troubled. So what Jesus is going to share is intended to be a comfort for believers who are troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.
The first comfort is in knowing that there's enough room in heaven for all who belong to Jesus. Space is not going to be a problem in heaven. I go to prepare a place for you underline that prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, and then underline the rest of this, I will come again and receive you to Myself.
That is where I am. There you may be. Also, Jesus tells his disciples that part of the reason he's going to leave them, he's going to leave the Earth is to prepare a place for Him for them. Sorry. Now, where did Jesus go to prepare a place for them?
At the end of his earthly Ministry, we know he ascended back to heaven. That means the place Jesus is preparing for believers. The place he calls my Father's house is heaven. Jesus then promises that He's going to come again for the specific purpose of receiving believers to Himself. This receiving of us is not going to involve Jesus coming down to us, but rather us going up to Him.
And to make sure we understand that we are the ones who will be changing location. Jesus adds this specific explanation, that's where I am, there you may be. Also, Jesus does this to make sure that we understand He's not referring to the Second Coming. When He'll come down to the Earth and rule from the throne of David and Jerusalem for the thousand years of the Millennium.
Jesus wants us to understand that he's talking about the Rapture, which is a completely separate event to the Second Coming. Jesus is going to come again to receive believers to himself and take them to be where he is, which is heaven. We're gonna learn that at the Rapture. Write this down. Jesus comes for his Church.
That means we leave the Earth to be with Him. While at the Second Coming, Jesus comes with His Church, and we will return to the Earth with Him. It's genuinely puzzling to me how someone could read and or study John 14, verses one to three, and say, no, that's not talking about the Rapture. It must be talking about the Second Coming. That conclusion can only be reached through some combination of willful, ignorance, and egregious EXO.
Jesus just read it. Just read it. It's plain and simple and one of the clearest passages of Scripture on the doctrine of the Rapture. There's a whole other layer to the words of Jesus we just read in John 14. In the Greek model of prophecy, which is the model that we're most familiar with in the modern Western world, prophecy is based on prediction and fulfillment.
Yes, He is for sure the third party of the Trinity and equal with God and Jesus...
Revelation seven is the only other place in the Bible where we encounter the phrase Kings and priests, and John uses it there to describe what Jesus has made every believer into. Look at the last line of Revelation 5/10. And we saw those who are there in heaven before the throne shall reign. Future tense, Meaning it's something that's going to happen after the Church has been up in heaven with Jesus and we're going to reign with Him then in the future on the Earth. Don't miss this.
They are in heaven singing about how they're going to return to the Earth in the future to reign with Jesus. In Revelation four, the Church has taken up to heaven when Jesus comes for his Saints. In Revelation Six, God's wrath comes down. In Revelation 19, Jesus returns with his Saints to reign on the Earth for a thousand years. That's the big picture of what's going to happen to the Church.
In the end, times the enzymes were announced by something truly miraculous, the state of Israel rising from the dead after around 1900 years. And what's even more amazing is that the Bible predicted it would happen thousands of years ago. But that's not all. Jesus Himself further prophesied that this event would Mark the final generation, the generation of the Church that will be alive on Earth when the Rapture takes place. In a monologue known as the Olivet Discourse, Jesus speaks in detail about the signs that will Mark the last days.
You can and should read it in Matthew 24 through 25 and in Luke 17, Jesus lists some very specific things that are going to happen. And if you'll go through his list item by item, I don't think that you'll reach the conclusion that Jesus is speaking exclusively about things that have already taken place. Let's take a quick look at some of the Olivet Discourse in Matthew chapter 24, turn there with me. The chapter opens with Jesus prophesying to his disciples that the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed, which it was in 70 Ad.
And then in verse three, we read now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age.
So the disciples asked Jesus three questions, when will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming and what will be the sign of the end of the age? And then over the next two chapters, Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus answers their questions, and it goes without saying that it's worth studying what he tells them. The term last days actually apply to the entire Church age, which began around 32 Ad on Pentecost, and that's chapter two and continues up to today. In the midst of describing all the signs of the last days, Jesus says this in the Olivet discourse in Matthew 24, verse eight, he says, but all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs, the beginning of birth pangs.
but rather us going up to Him.
You're my Angel, always giving me verses to make my heart happy..Thank You
You're my Angel, always giving me verses to make my heart happy..Thank You
What a day of rejoicing it will be, I am ready anytime, this world has nothing left for me and I don't believe for you either.
You have your whole family to come with you what a blessing Hplady...........
One day You’ll make everything new, Jesus
One day You will bind every wound
The former things shall all pass away
No more tears
One day You’ll make sense of it all, Jesus
One day every question resolved
Every anxious thought left behind
No more fear
When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We’ll sing and shout the victory
One day we will see face to face, Jesus
Is there a greater vision of grace
And in a moment, we shall be changed
On that day
And one day we’ll be free, free indeed, Jesus
One day all this struggle will cease
And we will see Your glory revealed
On that day
And when we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We’ll sing and shout the victory
Yes, when we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
And when we all see Jesus
We’ll sing and shout the victory
Oh one day, one day
Yes, one day we will see face to face, Jesus
Is there a greater vision of grace?
And in a moment, we shall be changed
Yes, in a moment, we shall be changed
In a moment, we shall be changed
On that day
When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We’ll sing and shout the victory
We’ll sing and shout the victory
We will weep no more
No more tears, no more shame
No more struggle, no more
Walking through the valley of the shadow
No cancer, no depression
Just the brightness of Your glory
Just the wonder of Your grace
Everything as it was meant to be
All of this will change
When we see You face to face
Jesus, face to face
You are attending a concert when just like that part of the people present there are gone.
Panic..........what happened, where have they gone?
I was just a new Christian when I thought about this; The rapture.
grabbed a piece of paper and wrote this down.
When the rapture happens this will be the in the newspaper.
"Millions are missing where have they gone, did U.F.O's pick them up?"
What else are people to believe?
Accept those we have told about the rapture, even though they did not believe, most likely even though we were a nut case, see it now happening.
They still have a chance as Jeff has told us and I am sure will tell us again.
If I said one midtrip, I believe there's going to be a seven year tribulation of death, doom and destruction. Most believers are gonna die horrific deaths because of the wrath of God, and they're in the wrong place at the wrong time. But halfway through those seven years, Jesus is going to come for the few that have managed to hold on that long by living in caves or something. Is that comforting? No.
What if I said, just as Noah Lot Rehab and countless other righteous men and women were spared from the wrath of God, Revelation 401 tells us that the Church will be taken up to Heaven before God's wrath comes upon the Earth because we are not appointed to wrath. Instead, we're gonna be with Jesus for the duration of the seven year tribulation, enjoying feasting with the Lord. Is that comforting? Absolutely. Absolutely!!
Jesus said in Matthew 24 /44.
Therefore, you also be ready for the Son is coming in an hour. You do not expect. We can't know the day. We can't know the hour, but we can know the generation when the Rapture will take place. If we'll take God's word seriously, most people, including most Christians, won't see it coming.
My only concern is am I going too fast?
Can you say Amen to that? In chapter six, God begins to pour out his wrath upon the Earth. And here's the amazing thing in both Greek and English, four and five come before six. Always have always will. Jesus devotes two full chapters to driving home the point that the Church is in heaven before His wrath is poured out on the Earth.
Say, Amen one more time. Over the next two chapters we're gonna be treated to a glorious preview of heaven, the hope of believers living in a broken world. Ever since Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden. And I urge you to soak in these feel good chapters because we know what's coming down in chapter six, the wrath of God. And it goes on for a while.
So enjoy these two chapters and comfort yourself with the reality that they relate to the believer during the tribulation. And we will watch chapters six through 19 unfold from heaven. Thank you, Jesus. Now let's revisit those first couple of verses in chapter four again, take a look at it with me. After these things, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the Spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne. As chapter four opens, the Church is raptured to heaven, specifically the throne room of heaven. The center of not only the universe but everything. I'm very skeptical of people who claim to visit of heaven and then be sent back by God to write a book and make a bad movie about it.
And one of the reasons I'm skeptical is because their testimony is usually focused on themselves. It's about the cool stuff they got to do. It's about their amazing new found abilities in heaven. It's about the fuzzy feelings they had. It's me, me, me.
But when you read Revelation chapters four and five, when you read the visions of John, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Makaia, and Daniel, the glimpses of heaven they had were consumed by one thing. The glory of God. Heaven is all about Him. And that's what makes it so wonderful. So would you write this down?
This is your first filling. Everything in heaven is centered around the throne of God, the throne of God. And now John, with his limited human vocabulary, attempts to describe what he sees. Verses three, and he who sat there on the throne was like a Jasper and a Sardius stone in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance, like an Emerald. Remember that when John uses the word like in Revelation, he's telling us that he's not speaking literally.
As our brother Peter wrote, you are a chosen generation, a Royal priesthood, a Holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light. And that's what we see them doing in Revelation chapter five. And when we read One Chronicles 25, we find David appointing 24 singers and musicians to lead the praise and worship of God at the temple. For me, the picture is absolutely clear. You can make a note of this.
The TwentyFour elders represent the Royal priesthood of believers. They represent the Royal priesthood of believers consisting of Old Testament Saints and the Church. I'll say it again. The 24 elders represent the Royal priesthood that Peter spoke about, the Royal priesthood of believers, which consists of Old Testament Saints and the Church. And in Revelations four and five, you see this Royal priesthood serving in that capacity as priests, ministering to the Lord.
Did you notice what the elders and believers are also doing before Jesus in Revelation Five? In that section we just read, they each have a harp, and they're worshipping him with whatever the heavenly version of the music is. They're also pouring out these bowls, which John describes as being full of incense. And so the image we're supposed to get is a type of smoke that's filling the throne room of God and enveloping the proceedings. Except in some mystical way that we can't fully grasp this incense.
And this smoke is the prayers of the Saints. How do you think God perceives your prayers? They're not annoyances. They're not tiresome to the Lord. They are like incense rising around them because every prayer testifies that we believe He is the only one who can help save, deliver, rescue, redeem, and restore.
Our prayers are worship to the Lord because they reveal our trust in Him and he is surrounded by our prayers in His throne room. Not even one of your prayers has ever been cast aside. They linger in heaven like incense, blessing the Lord. If we can grasp this reality, it will dramatically change the way that some of us pray, well, and actually believe God's Word when it says that we should come boldly to the throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find Grace to help in time of need.
The Lord is blessed by your prayers.
He's ministered to by your prayers and that should bless and encourage you. We don't have time to dig into it today, but I want to share something I just stumbled across. It's a fascinating parallel in Scripture as I was prepping this message, this scene with the 24 elders on Thrones around the throne of God brought to my mind the scripture where Paul tells us that we've been seated with Christ in Heavenly places. And that phrase is found in Ephesians two, and I discovered that the whole chapter, all of the options two parallels the scene in Revelation chapter four and five.
Incredibly.
And so I want to encourage you to dig into that this week in your own studies and just see how many similarities you can find between Ephesians chapter two in Revelation four and five, and I think you'll find it a rewarding time in the Scriptures. Verses Five going back to Revelation chapter four, says, and from the throne preceded Lightnings, thunderings, and voices. We see this theme of light radiating from the throne, continuing along with the sounds of Thunder and the incense of the prayers of the Saints.
This is an intense scene. And if you want to speculate about why it says voices plural, it could be because Jesus is on that throne with his Father.
And what do we see these believers, these 24 elders, the priesthood, the Royal priesthood doing with their crowns, even those who earn these crowns by being martyred? What do we see them do since the 24 elders fall down before him, who sits on the throne and worship Him, who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, you are worthy, oh, Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. You see, that is the ultimate destination of all glory that exists. All glory that exists in the universe is destined to return to Jesus.
That's where it finds its terminus.
And apparently, when we see the Lord, our instinctive reaction, an instinctive reaction will be to cast anything that we have value at His feet. The greatest reward you can receive in heaven is having something to honor the Lord with because it's all about Him. This is also why I believe the elders here only recently received their Crown, specifically at the judgment seat of Christ shortly following the Rapture the day's coming when we will bow before the throne of God. And when Thrones are being cast at His feet, will you have anything to offer?
That moment is going to be incredible.
And the rewards that Jesus is going to distribute will be more wonderful than we can fathom. I know there are many believers who say I'm not worried about crowns. I'm not worried about rewards. As long as I get into heaven, that's good enough for me. I don't care about any of that other stuff.
You will. I promise you will.
Jesus said the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his Angels, and then he will reward each according to his works. I believe that Jesus was telling us that eternal rewards will be given to the Church shortly following the Rapture. Because Jesus doesn't come with his Angels at the second coming, he comes with his Saints with the Church, and that fits with the fact that we see the 24 elders who I believe represent the Church and Old Testament Saints wearing crowns in heaven.
How did they get these crowns? Well, the judgment seat of Christ has clearly already taken place, and I suggest the text also tells us that they only recently receive these crowns.
Why do I say that? Well, let me explain. There are two Greek words that refer to a Crown. One is a diadem, something a King would wear. The other is a Stephanos, something given to the Victor in a competition.
Verses Ten refers to the latter. It refers to a reward, something that has been on by overcoming. There are likely more variations of heavenly crowns than the Bible records, but here are the ones the Bible does reveal. The Crown of life for those who have endured temptation, trials, and suffering. For Jesus, the Crown of righteousness for those who lived and longed for the coming of Jesus.
The Crown of glory for those who disciplined the Church, the Crown of Rejoicing for those who share the gospel. You see with a Stephanos, the Crown is not the actual reward. The actual reward is something else. The actual rewards for us in eternity will include things like greater responsibility when we rule the Earth with Jesus in the Millennium and other privileges in eternity that we're not currently aware of. Rather, these crowns that we see here represent the glory associated with the rewards.
And what do we see these believers, these 24 elders, the priesthood, the Royal priesthood doing with their crowns, even those who earn these crowns by being martyred. What do we see them do since the 24 elders fall down before him, who sits on the throne and worship Him, who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, you are worthy, oh, Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. You see, that is the ultimate destination of all glory that exists. All glory that exists in the universe is destined to return to Jesus.
That's where it finds its terminus.
And apparently, when we see the Lord, our instinctive reaction, instinctive reaction will be to cast anything that we have a value at his feet. The greatest reward you can receive in heaven is having something to honor the Lord with because it's all about Him. This is also why I believe the elders here only recently received their Crown, specifically at the judgment seat of Christ shortly following the Rapture the day's coming when we will bow before the throne of God. And when Thrones are being cast at his feet, will you have anything to offer?
That moment is going to be incredible.
And the rewards that Jesus is going to distribute will be more wonderful than we can fathom. I know there are many believers who say I'm not worried about crowns. I'm not worried about rewards. As long as I get into heaven, that's good enough for me. I don't care about any of that other stuff.
You will. I promise you will.
But if you read through the writings of Paul, you'll notice that his tone changes dramatically after his heavenly experience, and he becomes obsessed with living for eternity. He writes things like brethren. I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do for getting those things that are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.
I press toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God. In Christ Jesus. Therefore, let us as many as we mature have this mind. And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. You see, learning about heaven and eternity is not a distraction to the Christian.
It's fuel for the Christian. And dear brother, precious sister, hear me when I say this, don't waste your life. Don't waste your life. Spend it all on Jesus.
The other judgment. The Great White Throne judgment is for non-believers only. And we'll study that more when we reach it. In Revelation chapter 20, recall that in his letter to the Laodiceans, Jesus has to remind them that he is the beginning of the creation of God, aka the Creator because they're buying into the idea that He isn't really the Creator of all things. With that in mind, notice what else is being sung in heaven by the TwentyFour elders by the Royal priesthood.
For you created all things and by your will, they exist and were created. You see, heaven is not confused about who it is that created and sustains all things. And while we're here, I want to quickly highlight something that every person needs to know. And on the chance, there's someone watching this who's never heard this before or needs to hear this again. I want you to recognize that verse eleven tells you you are here.
You exist because God created you, and He created you because He wanted you to exist. It was His will that you exist. You were created by God and for God, you were created to know Him and be known by Him. You were created to love Him and be loved by Him. You're not an accident or the result of the chance to paraphrase Augustin, you have made us for Yourself.
Oh, Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You. You have a Creator and you will find the meaning of life in loving Him and being loved by Him. Let's talk some more about the sea of glass that is like Crystal. Did you see in verse ten where refers to Him who sits on the throne who lives forever and ever. You see, that's a clear reference to the resurrected Jesus.
And it's significant that he's sitting on the throne because in the Holy of Holies in the earthly temples, there was no throne. In fact, there was nowhere for the high priest to sit because the high priest's work was never done. People were always sinning. So there was always a sacrifice that needed to be made until Jesus Hebrews 414 tells us we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens. Jesus, the Son of God.
Jesus was and is our high priest. And in the throne room of heaven, the Temple of Heaven. He's sitting down. Why? Because, as he said just before He died for us on the cross, it is finished.
The work is finished. And Hebrews 1012 it says, but this man after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. When your life hits a storm. Remember what Jesus is doing in heaven right now? He's not pacing back and forth frantically.
He's not yelling. What are we going to do with his father? He's not anxious or stressed. He's sitting beside his father on the throne of Heaven with a perfectly calm sea of glass before them. Because the work is finished.
So when we would cross the suspension bridge at Lynn Canyon, I would always go in the back when they were little so that I only have to hide my fear for the few moments when they would turn around.
And I just have to smile and give a thumbs up. Because we train our kids to look to their parents, to know if something is okay or not, to know if it's safe or not. And when we're in the middle of a difficult season in life, we're supposed to look at Jesus, who is the direct reflection of His Father, our Heavenly Father. We're supposed to look at him and they're both sitting on the throne. They're at peace.
And that tells us, as children of the Father, we should be at peace too, you see because unlike me with heights, they're not faking it. They really are at peace. They're really not afraid. Do you remember when the disciples were caught in a deadly storm on the Sea of Galilee? The story begins with Jesus telling them how their journey is going to end.
Jesus says We're going to the other side. And when the storm hits, what is Jesus doing? He's sleeping. He's sleeping. He's at rest, not losing his mind and fear.
The truth is, the disciples should have just followed his example and lay down next to him for a quick nap. Because that's what Jesus was doing. Instead, they cry out, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing and listen to Jesus's response? Then He arose and rebuked the wind and said, to the sea, Peace be still and the wind ceased. And there was a great calm.
You see one way or another in this life or the next. Jesus is going to calm every storm in our lives, in Heaven, and in our lives. Now, before the throne of God, the wind ceases. The storm abates and chaos gives way to peace. After calming the storm, Jesus said to His disciples, Why are you so fearful?
How is it that you have no faith? If your life is in a storm? Look to Jesus. He is at rest. But here's the key.
So are all who come before his throne.
Revelation Four reminds us that Jesus is at the center of everything. It all revolves around Him. And that leads us to ask ourselves, the critical question is Jesus at the center of my life? Does my life revolve around God? If not, ask the Lord to show you what changes you need to make to have Him truly at the center of your life.
Are you anxious? Are you fearful about anything? If so, Jesus is asking you, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? Jesus's questions are not to shame you there to invite you to do two things.
Firstly, there is to invite you to look back at His perfect track record of faithfulness in your life and recognize that He's always been faithful. Therefore He will always be faithful. Secondly, those convicting questions of Jesus are an invitation to come before His throne and receive the peace that only He can offer. Let me remind you of Hebrews four verses 15 through 16. Again, we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but be in all points tempted as we are without sin.
Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find Grace to help in time of need. I wonder who among us today needs to come before the throne of Grace and find help. Find peace in their time of need. If it's you don't let your pride or your apathy cause you to miss out on the peace of God. The peace that passes.
I need it. Let's pray. Would you bow your head and close your eyes? Jesus, thank you for your precious word and for what it reveals to us. Thank you for the glory that awaits us when we get to see You face to face and Lord, when we're in Heaven, looking straight at You will cast anything of value we have at your feet.
But Jesus, we asked that we would not wait until then to do that, that we would offer our whole lives in that same way right now to You that as we would cast a Crown in heaven, we will cast our lives before You and say, You alone are worthy Lord. You deserve all of my life. You deserve to be at the center of my life. You deserve to be on the throne of my life. And so, Lord, if there are any changes I need to make to do that by the power of Your Spirit.
You shine a light on in our life because, Lord, we do believe and we do declare You are worthy You and You alone, Jesus. And then, Lord, I pray for anyone who just needs help. Be at peace. Anxiety. Whatever the issue is, whatever the need is, Lord, would you stir in them a conviction to come before your throne and find help?
Fine Grace. And even as we pray together right now in Jesus, Amen, would You just release Your peace to those who are watching and listening to this? Not a piece that comes from having every question answered or from all our circumstances suddenly becoming perfect, but a piece that comes from knowing You are seated at the right hand of the Father, that You are in control of all things, that You hear, every prayer. We pray that You have a plan and that You are good. You are faithful.
Fill us with that peace. Jesus, we love you. We bless you and we can't wait to be with You face to face in your name. We pray, Amen.
This sounds very familiar does it not?
I wonder how much time is between the two..............
I love the prophecies as you can see for yourself when it comes to pass. ...
The Bible is 1/3 of prophecies..................:thumbs-up