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Good News from a Bad Place - Revelation 1:1-8

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6/9/1996
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Good News from a Bad Place
Revelation 1:1-8
Skip Heitzig
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66 Revelation - History's Last Chapter - 1996

The book of Revelation exalts Jesus Christ as the soon-coming Lord over the earth. Skip Heitzig explains the amazing and mysterious prophecies that form God's final word to mankind.

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Who can forget the television series The Twilight Zone? Those notes that are still in our minds--we remember. And every show opened up with that haunting but clear voice of Rod Sterling: 'Suddenly they're catapulted into another dimension. They're in the Twilight Zone.' That show had such an attraction and almost a cult-following because it was mysterious. There were these mysteries; these odd things that we hoped would never happen and suddenly they're portrayed on the television screen. It captured our imagination. We have opened up to the book of Revelation. A book that is filled with mystery. In fact, it's downright spooky at times. For that reason people have said, 'I'm going to close it. I'm not going to even finish reading it.' Yet there's this strange attraction for us to read the book of Revelation. And as we open it I would say welcome to one of the most mysterious, one of the most controversial, and one of the most neglected books in all of the Bible.

Some seminaries refuse to even teach the book of Revelation. Many more churches refuse to even teach out of the book of Revelation. I was once asked to guest speak many years ago at a church. They seemed excited to have me until they found out I was teaching on the book of Revelation and they suggested I stay out of 'that stuff.' That we shouldn't tamper with it. It could be that we're a little bit afraid of the book. We're afraid that it might come true; we're afraid that it's not just symbolic--that it is prophetic. And we don't want something like that to come true on planet earth. Back in 1870, a clergyman made a grave mistake. Now it's not the first or the last time that a clergyman made a grave mistake, but this was an ironic mistake. A clergyman visited a small denominational college and he stayed at the home of one of the instructors. And they were having a discussion one night and the clergyman said, 'I believe that the Bible states that nothing else can be invented.' And the educator said, 'I totally disagree. In fact, I believe within fifty years men will be able to soar through the sky like birds.' The clergyman said, 'I suggest that you not share your opinion anymore lest you be accused of blasphemy for flight is reserved only for the angels.' The ironic thing about that is the clergyman's name was Milton Wright. That clergyman who made that statement that men will never be able to fly was the father of two famous boys: the Wright Brothers. Who thirty years later, after that 'no it will never happen' statement of their father, defied gravity and flew in that heavier than air machine. And every time we fly the friendly skies, we testify that Milton Wright was wrong.

Now the educator made a prediction. It came true, though it seemed unlikely at the time. And people read the book of Revelation or hear the prophesies in the Bible and, with the same kind of skepticism that Milton Wright. They say, 'These things will never come true. It can never happen.' It's strange that people would say that nowadays. It really is odd because so many of the Bible prophecies have already come true--with incredible accuracy. And I would challenge the skeptic, who would say, 'The Bible's just a good book to be read as literature.' I challenge you to do a study of prophecy: to find out how much God has said and it already has come true with incredible accuracy.

Last Sunday morning, we had a real special blessing. The boat we were own docked at the port of Patmos. And when we got off on the island of Patmos, I thought of verse nine and ten of our text. It was Sunday; it was the Lord's Day. And notice what it says in verse nine: "I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet." For us, it was a blessing. And Patmos now is dotted with little buildings and hotels, restaurants, churches, homes. But in those days it was a bad place. It was a prison colony where people were exiled. And that's where John was. It was a bad place. But good news came from a bad place: the book of Revelation was written on that tiny little island.

We want to consider only the first eight verses of Revelation chapter one. It's sort of an introduction. We want to find out why is this book here, why is it so different, who wrote it, who was the main character of the book, and so on. So let's consider first of all the book itself. In verse one, we're introduced: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. "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."

The book is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. I hear that when it was first announced that we were going through the book of Revelation on Sunday morning that there was an audible response--an excitement, I suppose. 'Wow, Revelation!' And probably the emotions and the sentiments were mixed. Some people thought, 'This is great. Finally I get a little more insight into understanding the book of Revelation. I can't wait!' Still others thought, 'Hot diggety dog! I can give Skip all of the insight that he needs because he's wrong in this area and I just can't wait to get into this so I can give him the tips.' Others maybe gasped in, 'Oh no! Not the book of Revelation! You gotta stay out of that book--that's one of those closed books. That's for the theologians. I'll just read a few psalms and maybe the Gospel of John but not the book of Revelation. That's a sealed-up book.' In fact, Martin Luther sort of had that sentiment. Listen to what he wrote about this book: "My spirit cannot adapt itself to the book and a sufficient reason why I do not esteem it highly is that Christ is neither taught nor recognized in it." Martin Luther couldn't have been further from the truth than in that statement. First of all, Martin Luther lived back at a time when so many of these things didn't seem possible to take place. We live in a day and age when not only are they possible and are things lining up, but in reading the headlines of our newspaper, it sounds very similar in certain regards to some parts of the book of Revelation.

Let's speak to that sentiment. It's a 'closed-book.' The word 'revelation' is the Greek word 'apocalypses' where we get the word 'apocalypse.' When you think of the word apocalypse what do you think of? The movie: "Apocalypse Now." A catastrophe happening. That's not what the word means. The word 'apocalypse' means an unveiling. An unveiling or a disclosure; an uncovering; a revealing of something. Not hidden any longer--brought out in the open so everybody knows. To get a mental picture of it, think of a statue in front of City Hall. There's a sheet on it and one fine morning comes the dedication and the band is playing and the mayor comes up and gives his spiel and the artist who created the statute underneath the veil talks about his commissioning. And at just the precise moment, when the band strikes the note, the sheet is pulled down and the statue is apocalypses--unveiled. It's a revelation; it's an unveiling. And so the Holy Spirit draws back the curtains in this book and reveals things to us. What does He reveal? Jesus Christ.

Notice it's called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is singular; it is not plural. I don't want to make too much of this, but it's not the book of revelations, it's the book of Revelation period. It's not a bunch of analogies or a bunch of predictions of the future primarily. It is a singular revelation of a Person: Jesus Christ. He's the center stage character in this book. He's the main subject. In chapters one through three, we see Jesus as the exalted King and Priest over His church, ministering to His church. In chapters four and five, we see Jesus in heaven, as the glorified Lamb of God. In chapter six through eighteen, we see Jesus Christ as the Judge over all the earth, as the judgments are poured out on mankind. In chapter nineteen, we see Jesus Christ as the returning and reigning King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And then the book closes with Jesus Christ as the Bridegroom taking His bride into the heavenly city.

So it's a revelation of Christ. Some of you desperately need this book. Some of us desperately need a revelation of Jesus Christ because some, who will be attending these services, have heard about Jesus but you don't know Him personally. You haven't made personal contact or a personal encounter with Him. For some of you, Jesus is still the little baby in the Christmas cards in the manger. But we see Jesus, not only grown-up in this book, but as the ruling Lord over all of the earth. Listen to what Louis Talbot wrote about this book: "The devil has turned thousands of people away from this portion of God's Word. He does not want anyone to read a book that tells of his being cast out of heaven. Nor is he anxious for us to read of the ultimate triumph of his number one enemy: Jesus Christ. The more you study the book of Revelation, the more you understand why Satan fights so hard to keep God's people away from it."

It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. But it's also a prophecy. Verse three: "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy." It's not allegory; it's not just symbols that you can spiritualize into something that anybody can spiritualize and you can apply it to anything. It is a book of prophecy. There are predictions that are made. It is futuristic. And we'll talk a little bit more about that next week--but it's prophecy. Does that make you uncomfortable? Does prophecy make you uncomfortable? For some people, it does. It shouldn't because one-fourth of the entire Bible is prophecy. It's all over the place. But when I say prophecy I'm not talking about just making a prediction that may or may not come true. Man will make a prediction and mankind, well, look at the weatherman. God is not a weatherman. Listen, God bless weathermen and meteorologists, but oftentimes they say, 'It's not going to rain this week. It's clear and hot.' And all of a sudden, rainstorm comes in the next day. But God is so different. I heard of a tourist who was driving through west Texas, pulls into a gas station to get gas, and he notices a rope dangling from a sign and the sign said 'Weather Forecaster.' So the guy getting gas studied it and asked the attendant, 'How can a rope tell you the weather?' And the old guy from Texas said, 'Very simple, sonny. See when that rope wags back and forth? It's windy. When that rope is wet? It's raining. And when it's frozen stiff? There's snow. When that room is gone? Yep, tornado.' Big deal! But when God makes a prediction it's because He knows the end from the beginning. And He makes the prediction; it's very, very definite as we're going to see in this book of Revelation.

Why is that important to us? For this reason: we live in an age of high anxiety where people want to know what's going to happen tomorrow. What about the end of this year? What does the future hold? Will there be an Armageddon? Will there be an end of this world? Will Jesus really return to the earth--visibly, physically? When will He return to the earth? These are questions that people have and some grasp at straws to get those answers. Have you noticed that? They'll read the horoscope in the newspaper to find out 'what the stars say.' Or they'll go get their palms read or they'll turn to the tabloid prophets of the National Enquirer and Star Magazine. Or they'll turn on the late night psycho-psychic hotlines to find out what that person would predict about their own personal life. All the while God has written, not only in Revelation, but in Daniel, Ezekiel, and other places, all about the future of planet earth, the human race, and what we can expect in confidence. As we read the book of Revelation, we'll define the rapture, the Second Coming of Christ. We'll be introduced of a coming world ruler who gives an economic system, a number to everybody. We're going to see the judgment that God brings upon the earth for a period of seven years. We're going to be introduced to a group called the 144,000. We're going to find out who they really are and what their job is during that time. We're going to examine when and why the Jews rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. There's incredible evidence of that planning already. We're going to see the emergence and the ultimate destruction of Babylon and we'll find out what that means. We're going to look at the battle of Armageddon. All of these things we consider in the book of Revelation.

As we do that, I have a personal prayer. I pray that we won't walk away with little new tidbits about who Gog and Magog is and come away with charts that we can take out and impress people with. My personal prayer is that we will walk away, after examining God's prophecy, and we'll trust Him more than we've ever trusted Him before. We will examine a God who has an incredibly accurate track record, who knows the end from the beginning, who has all of our lives in the palm of His hand. And we'll trust Him with every aspect of our lives. You see, every tomorrow has two handles. The handle of anxiety or the handle of faith. And so many people are grabbing on to that handle of anxiety: what's going to happen? The worst may come upon me! But every time God makes a promise and we watch it being fulfilled, it moves us to that handle of faith. This is a God I can trust; this is a God I can trust my life to. That's what I pray happens as we read this book.

Notice, though, in verse one that it's a special kind of prophecy. It's a prophecy of signs and symbols. It says, "Things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John." The word 'signify' means to reveal through signs. Have you read the book of Revelation already? Have you seen that there's symbol after symbol after symbol? Some of them are very odd: there are lamp stands, vials, bowls. There's this strange vision of Jesus in chapter one with white hair, brass feet that are burning, and a sword that is coming out of His mouth. All sorts of symbols through this book. Also, there are lots of sevens. Have you noticed that in this book? That things come in sevens. There are seven lamp stands, seven spirits before the throne of God, seven trumpets, seven seals, seven thunders that utter their voice. And we wonder why the seven? Seven is the number of completeness. Don't misunderstand that. It is not the number of perfection, as people will often say, it's the perfect number. No it's the complete number. If you think it's the perfect number and it denotes perfection and holiness, you're going to get into trouble when you read about Satan having seven heads and ten horns. It's simply the number of totality. Even as there are seven days that make a complete week, seven notes that make a total scale. You have a complete revelation of God; a complete judgment; a complete church that is being represented. That's the idea.

But why the symbols? Why the weird language? Why didn't God just say, 'Point number one: this is the rapture of the church. Point number two: after the rapture, this will happen.' Why the symbols? I think for a number of reasons. Number one, it would be like a spiritual code, so to speak, for the early church. You see, they were being persecuted by the Roman government who would examine the documents that they would read from. And a Roman soldier or governor reading the book of Revelation would go, 'What's up with this? This is weird. I can't understand it.' But a New Testament Christian would not feel the imagery was beyond his understanding. He would grasp the meaning of it. By the way, I think it's harder for us to read the book of Revelation and understand it than it was the first century Christians simply because the first century Christians knew the imagery that John was speaking about. Because it's very Old Testament and they were very bathed in the Old Testament Scriptures. In fact, in the book of Revelation, out of 404 passages in the book, there are at least 360 quotations or allusions to the Old Testament. And they understood apocalyptic literature from Daniel and Ezekiel. So when they got this book--they got it. They understood it. But someone in the secular world would look at it and not understand it.

There's a second reason: symbolism is not weakened by time. Symbolism is the kind of language that will transcend one culture, one language group, one people group. It can be a blessing to all people of all times. There's a third reason: that's because symbolism arouses strong emotions. When you read of symbols, it creates mental images that other forms of literature do not create. As my son was growing up, we did a thing called say, play, and pray. We would say or read a Bible story; then we would play the Bible story. We would dress up as characters, put on towels as headdresses and robes, he was always David and I always got the rock, and then afterwards we would pray about the lesson that we learned. So we would say it, play it, and pray it. Now what that did to my son was give him a visual handle. He understood the story; he learned so many Bible studies. It took me to my mid-twenties before I understood half of what he understood. Well John does the same thing by using such vivid graphics and symbolism. We have mental pictures of it.

John could have written, 'A dictator will come.' But isn't it more arousing in your emotions when he says, 'A beast arose out of the sea'? Or instead of saying, 'A world system will develop; a religious system', he calls it 'Babylon the great, the mother of all whores.' That is very, very graphic. Evil, when you speak about evil, is sort of non-descript. It's abstract. But in the book of Revelation we read about 'a woman who is drunk with the blood of the saints' in this evil system. So it gets a response from us emotionally that poetry or prose would never get. That's why I think symbolism is involved.

It says also in verse one: "things which must shortly take place." I want to just look at that for a moment because my son noticed something about this yesterday and you probably already have the same question. He said, 'Dad, this was written 2,000 years ago and he said it will shortly take place? Wasn't he wrong?' I want to address that issue because we could think, 'Gosh, John thought it could happen like, now.' The word 'shortly take place' is the Greek word 'intachi' which means 'swiftly.' It's where we get the word tachometer, something that measures velocity. It means to take place in a brief period of time. In other words, once these events start taking place, they will do so suddenly and swiftly until they reach the end. It'll be a short period of time that it'll take place. It won't go on for hundreds, thousands of years. It'll take place swiftly. There will come a time when the machinery of world history will kick into high gear and swift as it begins, it will end.

Let's notice verse two. We've thought about the book, let's look at the biographer. In verse one it says, "By His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw." In verse four, he says, "John, to the seven churches which are in Asia." The book of Revelation, according to verse one, came from God the Father to His Son Jesus Christ to an angel, finally to John. That's how it was passed down. Now John is writing it down on the island of Patmos. Who is John? We know he's an apostle. He didn't start off as a guy to write books, he was a fisherman from Galilee. His dad was Zebedee, his mom was Salome, his older brother was James who was martyred in the book of Acts--he had his head cut off. John was part of the inner circle, remember, with Jesus? Jesus had His following but there were times when He would take this inner circle aside and it would be Peter, James, and John. They were privy to things that the others weren't. So when Jesus healed Jairus' daughter in Capernaum, He took with Him Peter, James, and John and they saw the event firsthand. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and they saw Jesus transfigured. In the Garden of Gethsemane, they were there with Jesus but Jesus took Peter, James, and John aside. John had a certain intimacy with Jesus Christ that I think the others didn't.

John is called the disciple whom Jesus loved. You should know that John wrote that about himself. And I love that because it's not like He didn't love everybody, but John realized that He had a personal love and he was riveted on that love. And at the Last Supper, it was John who laid his head on the bosom of Jesus, hearing His heartbeat--as if to grasp every word that would come out of the mouth of Jesus. It was John who was last and only, by the way, at the cross of Jesus Christ. Stood at the foot watching his Savior die. It was John to whom Jesus entrusted care of His mother. It was John who ran to the tomb first. He ran with Peter, he beat Peter probably because he was a better runner. And it was John who believed first, the Scripture says. All of that about John, however, just so you don't get the idea that John was perfect and had a shinier halo than everybody else, it was John who came with his brother and said, 'Jesus? I want to make sure that in Your kingdom I get the best seat. Ahead of all these other jokers, I want to be at Your right hand and my brother at Your left hand.' So he wasn't perfect and he was very ambitious in that sense.

Then it says he's on the island of Patmos here. Patmos is a penal colony twenty-five miles off the coast of Asia Minor. To this day, there is no water on the island. It has to be shipped in from outside. It wasn't a beautiful little island like it is today; it was simply a rock jetting out of the Aegean Sea where prisoners were isolated. John was in his nineties, probably, when he wrote this book. He's an old guy: isolated, alone on the island of Patmos. Tradition tells us he didn't die there, but he was released later on and he went back to Ephesus where he lived his remaining life. And the beautiful thing to me is, here's a guy who has been persecuted, isolated, alone, in his nineties, for Jesus Christ. And he comes out of the experience not bitter, as if undaunted. A beautiful tradition says that when John was really old that they used to carry him in a chair around to all the churches of Asia Minor because he couldn't work. And wherever he would go, he'd just raise up his arms and smile and say, 'Little children, love one another!' That's all he said. Filled with love; the love of Jesus Christ. Having been on such an island, writing this book, isolated.

John is writing to suffering Christians so that they might be encouraged. Could one of those suffering Christians be you this morning? Do you have a Patmos that you're on? Do you have a prison that you are in? Maybe it's your job. Maybe you think, 'I hate this job.' Like the song, you can take this job and--well, I'm not going to finish the song but you remember it. You think, 'This is a prison. I hate it. There's no fulfillment.' Maybe it's a relationship. Maybe you feel trapped by that other person. Smothered. When you said, 'I do,' you thought it would be liberating and you've found it's tough for you now. Maybe it's a hospital bed. Maybe that's your Patmos. Maybe you feel like, 'I'm alone, I'm isolated, I can't get out, I can't travel, I'm not being encouraged. Why is this happening?' The book of Revelation will encourage you and it was in this place of isolation that John got the greatest revelation. Think of that.

What if God would've said, 'Ok, John, have it your way. I'm going to make sure you never suffer in your life.' This book would never have come to us. It was in the place of isolation that he received the greatest revelation. This week I made a phone call to a man who was scheduled to speak while I was gone but he couldn't make it. John Wesley White had a massive stroke. He cannot speak to this day. The doctors are looking forward to the time when he can. But here's a guy who's given his life to speaking--that's what he does. Can you imagine how frustrating it is to a public speaker to not be able to do the one thing that you're called to do and that's speak? He cannot form words. So I called him, not knowing what to expect, knowing that I would be doing all the talking. But I wanted to encourage him, tell him we loved him and are praying for him. Talked to his wife, Kathleen, if there's anything we can do. John got on the phone and this is how he responds--he laughs. I'd say, 'John, we love you.' 'Ha-ha-ha.' 'We're praying for you, John.' 'Ha-ha-ha.' His response to your words or his yes is to laugh. And it's a joyful laugh. And I thought, 'What a response! What faith!' It doesn't take much faith when you're being blessed all the time to go, 'I trust God!' But when everything's stripped from your life to say, 'The joy of God!'? That's faith. A little faith will bring your soul to heaven but a lot of faith, a clinging to God, will bring heaven to your soul. And heaven's in his soul. And you might be in a Patmos this morning, but there's news for you. God has brought you there to reveal Himself to you.

Let's look now in verse three at the benefits of this message. This is what you can expect as you read it: "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." This is the only book in the Bible that has a promise like this. You're blessed if you read any of the Bible but this is the only book that opens up by saying, 'Read me and you'll be blessed.' Blessed means 'get happy'. The more you read this book, the more you understand about Jesus Christ, the more you understand about His plan for your future, the happier that you will be. And notice it says read it, hear it, and keep it. Now we're going to read it together in the next few months. We're all going to hear it. But I can't keep it for you; I can only keep it for me. And you can't keep it for me; you can only keep it for you. It's an individual application of these truths. In other words, we all must make a choice to live in the light of eternity or to live only in the temporary--what we can see. But if you live in the light of eternity and you see the glorified Christ in this book, you will be a happier person. The happiest people I've ever met are people who love the Bible. Who read the Bible. Who listen to it with great joy and anticipation and then decide to keep it.

David said, 'Your testimonies are wonderful therefore my soul keeps them.' God told Joshua, 'The Book of the Law will not depart from your mouth but you will meditate on it every day and then you will do what it says. Then you will make your way prosperous; then you will have good success.' Today there are more Bible versions than ever before. Have you noticed that? A new one comes out every two, three, four years. We've got not only the KJV, but now the NKJV, we have the NIV, the NASB, the NAB, the JCV, the NAACP--we have all sorts of versions. Every conceivable color, every study system, hardback, cheap, expensive. You can get it on computer disk. The Bible is available to 97% of the world's population. It's been translated in more languages and is available to more people than any other book in history, yet it's one of the most unread books. It's there; it's owned. But it's not read. A recent survey said 25% only of people in America who claim to be born-again Christians, only one quarter of all the born-again Christians in America read the Bible every day. It's owned but it is unread and it is more unkept than being unread. But the blessing comes from the hearing and the reading and then the keeping.

My encouragement is that you walk away from every single study in this book and you ask, 'What did this lesson teach me that I can apply now, today, and tomorrow? How can I keep it?' We live in the entertainment age. It's an awesome age to live in. But it's got a downside to it. It retrains the way we listen. You'll watch things on television that you wouldn't dare do. You might watch something that has a violent act in it. You're watching it; it's entertaining, you say to yourself. You say, 'Well, I'd never do that,' so you rationalize your way through it. Many people listen to the Bible that way. Like watching television. They'll listen to it, it's entertaining to listen to, but 'I'd never do what it says, but I'll listen to it. It's fascinating.' The real joy comes when you do it, when you apply it. Then it is powerful because it is real.

Fourthly and finally, let's look in verses four through eight quickly at the being of central interest, the Blessed One, Jesus Christ. "John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." Right on--that's the modern translation of 'Amen.'

"Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

Here John is introducing to us the central character, the capstone of the book. It's Jesus Christ. This is who He is; this is what He's done. You know Jesus has always enjoyed certain notoriety around the world. People around the world know who He is. He's not Lord and Savior of their life, but they know about Him. He's an important prophet, a good person, all that stuff. I was reading a report called The National and International Religion Report from 1994. Interesting little quip in it, it said, "Jesus ranks second in importance among the historical Jews according to a new book by Michael Shapiro. His book is called The Jewish 100. A ranking of the most influential Jews of all time, Moses topped the list as the number one most influential Jew." We can understand why--he gave the Law. Second is Jesus. Third, Albert Einstein is the third most influential Jew in history. Others include Sigmund Freud, number four, Saint Paul, number six, Karl Marx, number seven, the Virgin Mary, number nine, and ranking at number 98 is Sandy Koufax the great pitcher of the Dodgers.

That's their list. But here's John's list: Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ. He is the main thing and he keeps Jesus the main thing throughout the entire book. When I read that Jesus Christ is coming as Ruler over the kings of the earth, I go, 'Yes! Finally!' And notice John's response in verse 17: "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last." I don't know of any monarch who's ever received a reception like this, do you? Somebody would fall at their feet as dead. The king or queen of England or France never gets a reception like this. But John is realizing fully who this is. He remembered Jesus in the flesh. The man with tattered robes, beat-up sandals, the carpenter from Nazareth whom he discovered was God in human flesh. But now the vision is not of a carpenter but of a glorious reigning King over all of the kings of the earth.

He is the central character. Not only because He is exalted as the King of the earth, but in verse five, for what He has done for us. "Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood." I think John is saying this: Jesus has every right to rule your life because He's done everything to redeem your life. Because He redeems you with His own blood, He has the right to rule your life. In the closing of these verses, we see Jesus as coming again. In verse seven: "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him." This is the theme of the book, by the way. If you want to come away with one theme of the book of Revelation it's Jesus Christ, the One who died, is coming back. Not lowly, but exalted. And will rule over all the earth. That's the major theme.

Every four years in this country we go through a strange ritual. We call it the elections. It's the same old ritual. Different players; basically the same promises: vote me and everything in life will be different. Everything will be changed. I will save the world. And there's always these optimists, 'We get this guy in or this guy out, the world is going to change.' I've got to tell you something in all honesty. I am growing more and more pessimistic as the years go by when it comes to politics. I am becoming less Republican or less Democrat. I consider myself now a Theocrat. I do. I believe there's going to be real hope when Jesus comes to this earth and says, 'Guys, move over. I'm going to do it right, all right? Scoot over; I'm going to rule the earth the way it ought to be ruled--in righteousness and in peace.' It's evident that a monarchy doesn't work. It's evident that socialism doesn't work. It's evident that every form of human government eventually breaks down because we're corrupt. That's at the root of our problem. I agree with the inscription on the dome of Washington, D.C. Very few people know about it. It was put there by the guy who erected it. He said, "One far off divine event toward which the whole creation is moving." It's a divine event. The creation is moving toward it. What is it? The coming of Jesus. He had it right; inscribed in the dome of the government.

Maybe some of you dads can relate to this story. The father came home; he was bone weary that afternoon. He had worked so hard at the office, put in extra hours because he got there early. He needed space; he needed a rest. He couldn't wait to hit the couch, put his feet up, knock his shoes off, and read the newspaper. Door opened, he dragged himself in, found his favorite chair, opened the newspaper, and guess who jumped in his lap? Five-year-old son, 'Daddy! Let's play!' So happy to see his father--elated. And the father knew his son needed his time, needed to spend time with him. 'But I have a greater need for just a few minutes. I need space; I need time; I need loneliness, isolation.' And he didn't want to say, 'Bug off,' so a brilliant scheme came into his mind. He noticed that in one of the sections of the newspaper there was a picture of the earth, a moon probe had gone up, taken a picture of the earth, and he said, 'Give me that section.' Took a scissors and cut out the earth in little puzzle-like sections, piled them all up, gave them to his son with some scotch tape and said, 'Go put this puzzle together. When you're all done, bring it to me, and then we'll play.' Thinking he had a lot of time. He came back in ten minutes. The earth was all perfectly pasted together. His father said, 'How did you do it so quick?' He said, 'Dad, it was simple! On the back of the page is the picture of a man and when you put the man together the world comes together.'

It's true, isn't it? The world will come together. Jesus will interrupt it very, very shortly and judgment will fall and God will create His world order. But until then, He puts the world back together one person at a time. One life at a time is rebuilt and reshaped and taped back together until we function the way God wants us to function. Today, not in the future, today He wants to be your Lord. He wants to rule and reign in your life. It's not just one far off divine event; today can be the day where your life has meaning, purpose, priority. By letting God put you back together.

Additional Messages in this Series

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6/16/1996
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Catapulted into the Future
Revelation 1:9-20
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6/23/1996
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When Love Grows Cold
Revelation 2:1-7
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6/30/1996
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Postcard to Those in Pain
Revelation 2:8-11
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7/7/1996
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The Curse of Compromise
Revelation 2:12-17
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7/14/1996
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Corruption without Discernment
Revelation 2:18-29
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7/21/1996
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Church of the Living Dead
Revelation 3:1-6
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7/28/1996
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Body Building - God's Way
Revelation 3:7-13
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The human body has become the obsession of our modern culture. Much like the ancient Greeks, people are madly trying to fit the contemporary ideal of what is an acceptable shape and size. The church is metaphorically called the "Body of Christ" and His desire is to see it built up spiritually. The church of Philadelphia is a good model of a healthy, faithful church. Their example provides for us a template to follow in building up the Body - God's Way!
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8/19/1996
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Taking Your Spiritual Temperature
Revelation 3:14-22
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Ever since we were kids our moms stuck thermometers in our mouths whenever she suspected that we were sick. If our body temperature of 98.6 had climbed up just a few notches, it was always a good indication that an unhealthy condition was present. There is also a spiritual temperature that reveals the condition of our souls, and when the thermometer reads Lukewarm it indicates that something is wrong; it indicates the presence of danger. Let's see how Jesus, the Great Physician, treats his patient with this malady.
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8/25/1996
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Peeking into the Portals of Heaven
Revelation 4
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9/1/1996
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History's Greatest Real Estate Deal
Revelation 5:1-7
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9/8/1996
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Worship His Majesty - Part 1
Revelation 5:8-10
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In heaven there won’t be just three services in the morning and one at night with a midweek tacked on. There will be no need to be sensitive to time so we can go to lunch. Words will not have to be printed nor projected. Worship leaders will have no need prompting people to sing. It will be an all-consuming experience that will involve our total cooperation and enthusiasm.
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9/15/1996
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Worship His Majesty - Part 2
Revelation 5:11-14
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9/29/1996
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Four Riders with Bad News
Revelation 6:1-8
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10/6/1996
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The Cries of Heaven and Earth
Revelation 6:9-17
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10/13/1996
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A Blessed Interruption in a Tough Time
Revelation 7
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10/20/1996
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Trumpets of Doom
Revelation 8
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10/27/1996
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When All Hell Breaks Loose
Revelation 9:1-12
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11/3/1996
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Angels of Mass Destruction
Revelation 9:13-21
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11/10/1996
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A Big Angel with a Little Book
Revelation 10
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11/17/1996
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Two Powerful Preachers
Revelation 11:1-14
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11/24/1996
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Light at the End of the Tunnel
Revelation 11:15-19
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12/1/1996
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The Panorama of Spiritual Warfare - Part 1
Revelation 12:1-6
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12/8/1996
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The Panorama of Spiritual Warfare - Part 2
Revelation 12:7-17
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There aren't many people who like to fight. Confrontation is something most would like to avoid. But in the spiritual realm it's unavoidable. The question isn't, "Will I engage in spiritual warfare?" Rather, the question is, "How well will I fight?" As we saw last week, the war in the heavens makes its way to the theater of the earth. Let's see what else it entails.
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12/15/1996
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The Coming Global Leader
Revelation 13:1-10
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12/22/1996
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Evil's Right-Hand-Man
Revelation 13:11-18
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12/29/1996
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The Lamb Who Shepherds His People
Revelation 14:1-5
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After all that john has seen in his apocalyptic vision, seeing the docility of a lamb standing with his overcoming sheep is a welcomed sight. Although the dragon pursues god's people relentlessly, although the beasts are bent on ruling the earth, the ultimate winner will be the lamb and his followers.
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1/5/1997
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Angels Set The Record Straight
Revelation 14:6-13
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1/12/1997
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It's Harvest Time!
Revelation 14:14-20
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One of the most common ways to make a living in ancient times was to "work the land." The early rains of October/November and the soft latter rains produced the wheat and barley harvest later on. Also, when vintage season began, almost the whole village could be found in the fields harvesting the crop. Such images would also provide a poignant way of depicting the final judgment of the earth, as in this section.
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1/17/1997
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Getting Ready for the Grand Finale
Revelation 15:1-8
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1/26/1997
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What's in the Bowl? - Part 1
Revelation 16:1-11
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We now come to the "seven last plagues" of God in the Great Tribulation that is coming upon planet earth. These judgments come in the form of "bowls" being poured out swiftly and completely-the judgment will be swift and thorough. Yet through all the mercy as Well as wrath of this awesome era, people will persist in having a hardened heart. Open your heart 'right now to these truths.
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2/2/1997
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What's in the Bowl? - Part 2
Revelation 16:12-21
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What will the end of the world be like? What are the final events just before Jesus returns and takes over to set up His millennial reign? That's what this section tells us. There will be increased warfare activity in the Middle East, massive deception, and unheard of destructive cataclysms on earth. In the midst of foretelling these events, Jesus has a word of encouragement.
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2/9/1997
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The Coming World Religion
Revelation 17
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It was Karl Marx who stated, no doubt cynically, that religion was the opiate of the masses. The fact is, he was right-it is! People are driven to worship something or someone. This desire will be exploited to the hilt in the Tribulation period and will be under the umbrella of the world dictator-the Antichrist. What are its roots and how does it end?
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2/16/1997
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Get out of Babylon!
Revelation 18
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Someone once said, "Money can't buy you friends but your enemies treat you a little better." Though meant to be tongue-in­cheek, that won't happen when the entire world economy collapses. God's shakedown of the earth will include everything that the Antichrist's kingdom will embody, from the sacred to the secular.
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3/2/1997
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Marriage Made in Heaven
Revelation 19:1-10
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3/9/1997
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The Return of Jesus Christ - Part 1
Revelation 19
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Even in the dome of our capitol in Washington there is an inscription which seems to point to the return of Jesus Christ. It says: "One far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves." It is that event which we will be studying in the next two weeks. This is what all Christians of all ages have looked forward to - His return and reign of His creation.
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3/16/1997
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The Return of Jesus Christ - Part 2
Revelation 19
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Even in the dome of the capitol in Washington there is an inscription which seems to point to the return of Jesus Christ. It says: "one far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves." it is that event, that Christians of all ages have looked forward to-his return and reign of his creation. We will conclude our study of the return of Jesus Christ, today.
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4/6/1997
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Paradise Regained
Revelation 20:1-3
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4/13/1997
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The Devil's Last Stand
Revelation 20:1-10
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A typical question is, "Will evil ever get its reward?" What ever happened to ethics and justice? Well, we see here that God will not turn His back on this issue. He will deal with the source of all evil (the devil himself) and then judge those who revel in it. This section gives tremendous hope to anyone concerned about injustice in our world.
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4/20/1997
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Life, Death, and Resurrection
Revelation 20:5-6; 20:11-15
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5/4/1997
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All Things New - Part 1
Revelation 21:1-3
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5/11/1997
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All Things New - Part 2
Revelation 21:4-8
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"It's like nothing you've ever seen or experienced before." That's how John describes the emotional experience of heaven. So that we can relate, he tells us that all of the pain, sorrow, and moaning we've endured here won't be there. By the way, only those who want to go there will go there. Heaven is not a destination by default, reservations are made here and now!
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5/18/1997
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The City of the Future
Revelation 21:9-22:5
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There is no architect or builder like God himself. Even the patriarch Abraham "was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Heb. 11:10) he didn't find it in his lifetime. "You won't find you're "happily ever after" here either, but the New Jerusalem will be God's answer for man's longing to live in a perpetually peaceful stare.
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5/25/1997
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He's Coming - Now What!?
Revelation 22:6-21
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There are 43 additional messages in this series.
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